


Blind To You

by WarlockWriter



Category: Jericho (US 2006), The Agency (TV 2001), The Evil Gene (2015)
Genre: Action & Romance, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, And isn't very explicit, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blind Character, Group Sex, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Multi, Once again Lex and the Jericho timeline don't mix, Post-Apocalypse, Sharing a Bed, Yes this one gets dark in places
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-01-29 12:00:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 17
Words: 60,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21409837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarlockWriter/pseuds/WarlockWriter
Summary: On a mission for the CIA, Lex fails to stop a nuclear bomb from going off over Denver. Blind and injured, he's dragged from the rubble by a strange Alpha. Can they make it from Denver to Jericho before winter? More importantly, before Lex goes into heat?Fills the "Blind" square from the Speight Bingo. Will fill another one, but that's a spoiler. ;)Thanks to Masterpiece of Turkey Cleverness for the beta read!
Relationships: Griff Krenshaw/Lex (The Agency TV 2001)
Comments: 85
Kudos: 19
Collections: Speight Bingo





	1. September 25 to September 28

**Author's Note:**

> So many firsts! First blind character. First post-apocalypse. First A/B/O. Let's see how I do.
> 
> A quick RSJ viewing guide for this story. The Agency: watch enough to get a feel for the character of Lex. I use very little show content in this. The Evil Gene: yeah, watch it. Jericho: probably okay with the first few episodes. Note the "Lex and Jericho timeline don't mix" tag. Once Lex and Jericho are in a story together, the show timeline falls apart quickly.

** **

**September 25**

Lex swore at his computer. Stiles was going to be at the next locked door in--he glanced at the video feed at the bottom of his monitor--45 seconds or so, and Lex was still hacking into the system that controlled that particular lock. Why did these people have to be actually security conscious and competent?

“Lex?” came Stiles’ voice in his ear. “Got the lock yet?”

“I’ll have it by the time you’re there.”

“That’s not the yes I was hoping for,” came Stiles’ response. Lex appreciated how the big Alpha never seemed flustered, no matter how tight the situation.

Lex usually managed to stay focused, but he had to work at it. He supposed it came with being an Omega, or maybe it was just him. There! He was finally in the system. Now to find the locking subroutine.

Motion from the video feed caught his eye, and he glanced down. Stiles wouldn’t have attracted his attention, so this must be…

Oh shit! Some guy was stalking behind Stiles, a knife held in his hand like he knew how to use it. He turned his head, and Lex had just enough time to think _What the fuck?_ before the building shook hard enough to throw Lex across the room. He heard a deafening explosion just before everything went black.

***

Lex awoke to pain. His head pounded, and every muscle in his body felt like it had been beaten into jelly. He was moving? Maybe? Was someone dragging him?

He passed out again.

**September 28**

The next time he awoke, he still hurt. A lot. But he wasn’t moving anymore, so he supposed that was a good thing? It was dark. So dark that he couldn’t see anything. He listened, or tried to. His head still hurt, and mostly he could just hear the deafening sound of blood moving through his head. He’d never realized blood flow could be so loud.

Lex reached out a hand. He was lying on something sort of soft but very lumpy. Maybe an old mattress? He smelled burning. Gasoline? And something else acrid and sharp. He thought he should know what it was but couldn’t place it. He sat up and almost passed out again. The pounding in his head redoubled. Fortunately, his back hit a wall, and he leaned against it until the pain receded. Slightly.

Where was he? Where was Stiles? What had happened?

Footsteps sounded nearby. At least he thought they were footsteps. It was still hard to tell over the clamor in his head.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Or rather that’s what he’d intended to say, but his mouth was so dry, he wasn’t sure what came out was even vaguely intelligible.

Who...or what...ever it was came closer.

“Hello?” Lex hated the shaky fear in his voice. “Stiles?”

“He’s dead.”

The voice was deep and rough and sounded as if the speaker was maybe 15 or so feet away. Lex had a hard time understanding it, but he was certain he’d never heard it before.

But, Stiles dead? Surely there was a mistake.

“How? How do you know? And who are you?”

He heard the person moving. Shifting his feet maybe?

“Griff. I’m Griff Krenshaw.”

Now Lex knew he didn’t know this...guy? His voice sounded male, and Griff didn’t sound like a female name.

“Hey, can you turn on a light? It’s really dark in here.”

“It’s not dark.”

Not dark? What? How was that possible?

Lex felt what was left of his world crumbling. He felt tears in the corner of his eyes. No! God Damn It! No! He was not going to start crying like some helpless Omega on a TV show. He’d fought his way into an agent position with the CIA, and it didn’t matter what happened. Nothing was taking that away from him.

On the other hand, he didn’t know where he was or what had happened.

“What happened?” Then his manners caught up with him a bit. “I’m Lex, by the way.”

“May I come closer, Lex?”

He considered. If Griff were going to hurt him, he guessed he would have done it by now. “Okay. Sure.”

He heard Griff moving closer and felt the mattress shift. Why couldn’t he see anything?

“Going to put something in your hand. Need you to take it.”

Before Lex could protest, a warm, calloused hand took his, placed something small in it and then closed his fist around it. Then the hand was withdrawn. Lex rolled whatever it was between his index finger and thumb. It felt like a pill. “What is it?”

“Pill. Radiation won’t make you sick.”

What! Lex almost dropped the pill but caught it just before it rolled out of his hand. “Radiation? What are you talking about?”

“Take the pill. I’ll try to explain.”

Lex could hear the strain in Griff’s voice. As if he were forcing the words out somehow. Sick? Or something else? He rolled the pill in his fingers again. Generally he didn’t take anything on someone’s say so, but radiation? Before he could talk himself out of it, he took the pill.

“So radiation?”

“Nuclear bomb went off over Denver.”

What? He and Stiles had been on a mission, not too far from Denver. But? “Then how are we still alive?”

“Far enough from blast. Plus the pills.”

Lex wasn't sure he could process all this. Stiles apparently dead. A nuclear bomb going off on American soil? That was exactly what he'd spent most of his adult life trying to prevent. So basically he was a failure?

Griff was continuing. “Maybe more than the one bomb. Radio. TV. Phones. All down. Was trying to find out more.”

Maybe more than one bomb? How? There had been no sign on any of the threat indicators. How could they have screwed up so badly?

“Where are we now?”

“About 40 miles east of Denver.”

Wait? 40 miles? Most cars wouldn't be running. Too many computers and shit in them.

And why could he not see?

“Think you are blind.”

Oh shit! He'd said that out loud? And then Griff's words hit him. Blind? He couldn't be blind? What use was a blind hacker? Hacking was all he was good for.

“Carried you here. Been traveling for three days.”

Three days? Oh shit! He started fumbling around him on the mattress or whatever it was. No! No! He couldn't have lost his waist pack!

Griff put something in his hand. It felt like a strap. He followed the strap to leather, and he recognized the feel of it in his hand. He found the zipper and opened it. A couple of handy tools, his wallet--fat lot of good that was going to be now--keys, a pocket knife and, oh thank God! His pills. He fumbled the bottle open and took one. Okay. They wouldn't last forever, but they bought him some time.

His brain kicked in, at least a little. “How did you find me?”

“Scented you.”

Oh. “You're an Alpha, aren't you?” Now that he was aware of it, he could smell the distinctive musk of an Alpha. Unmated unless he was completely mistaken. He avoided thinking about his biology too much, but he could at least recognize an unmated Alpha scent. Smelled kind of good too.

“Yes.” Confirmation, even though unnecessary.

Nuclear bomb. Apparently blind. Which meant he was basically useless. Stiles dead. No more than two weeks of medication left. And now he was completely dependent on an Alpha.

It was more than he could take. He pulled his knees to his chest, wrapped them with his arms and, head down, started crying. About the most stereotypical thing he could do right then, but he couldn't stop himself.

Griff settled closer and put an arm around him. Lex hated himself in that moment but he couldn't help inhaling the man's reassuring scent and leaning into the Alpha's warm side. Just for a few minutes. Until he got his bearings back.

***

Griff hadn’t believed his good luck when he realized Lex was blind. He’d done what he had to do with Stiles, but he doubted Lex would see it that way. He could smell it when the hacker had asked about the other Alpha. They weren’t mated, but Lex had been attracted to him.

He’d been supposed to kill Lex too. However, after the bomb had gone off, he’d scented the injured Omega in the rubble, and he’d been unable to follow his orders. Instead, he’d dragged him until he’d managed to get clear enough to pick him up and carry him, over three days, as far as he could get them.

Fortunately, he’d had enough of the anti-radiation pills for both, and he hadn’t needed to choose which of them would get them. He was reasonably certain they were near the far edge of fallout, and they wouldn’t need to take them any longer. On the other hand, another day wouldn’t hurt.

He held Lex while he cried, not thinking any less of him for the show of emotion. And not just because he was an Omega. Griff knew better than to judge someone just because of biology. No, he understood how much the hacker’s world had been shattered. Sitting there, just being there, he wanted to be the one to help put it back together.

Which was very dangerous for him to think, much less want.

He knew Lex had taken heat suppressants, which told him more than the other man might have wanted him to know. It was too bad. If he weren’t on the drugs, Griff’s own Alpha scent would be helping him over the shock. With the drugs, he’d be aware of his scent, but it wouldn’t have much effect.

Again, maybe that was for the best. Griff knew he was the last Alpha any Omega should want to be around. Too bad he was the only one available.

He was distracted from his musings when he realized Lex had asked him something.

“Sorry?” His hands twitched as he spoke. It was a bad tell but hard to suppress. He’d learned sign language as a way to communicate without straining his damaged vocal cords. So of course he ended up with someone who was blind.

Did Fate really hate him that much?

“I asked what’s next. You seem to be the one with the plan right now. Assuming staying here isn’t it.”

“No. Going to Kansas. Safe there.” He had to plan out his words carefully, to get his message across with the fewest possible. It made people think he was slow, which he wasn’t. He knew from Lex’s file that the hacker was scary smart, and right then he didn’t want him to think he was stupid. But how to show him otherwise?

“Why Kansas?”

Griff noticed he was asking his questions without moving even an inch from under Griff’s arm. He liked that.

“Never mind. Obviously talking is difficult for you. Are you sick?”

Griff shook his head before realizing the other man couldn’t see the motion. “No. Damaged vocal cords.” He managed a barked laugh. “Usually sign.”

He was pleased to hear a rueful-sounding chuckle. “So of course, you’re stuck with a blind guy. Too bad. I can actually sign a little.”

Griff thought through his next words carefully. “Might not be permanent.”

Lex gave a little hitching breath. “My blindness, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Eyes not damaged. Dilate normally.”

Lex’s scent shifted from depressed to something lighter. “You think it’s the head wound causing it, then?” He immediately added, “No, don’t worry about answering that. Not worth wasting your voice on that.”

Griff did feel compelled to add. “Not a doctor. Could be wrong.”

Lex shook his head. “No. I get that. Thank you, though. Blind hackers aren’t much use to anyone.”

Griff wanted to tell him that it wasn’t just his hacking that made him useful. But he wasn’t sure Lex was in the right place to listen, so he didn’t waste the words. His throat was hurting pretty bad, and he didn’t want to say anything he didn’t have to.

Lex yawned suddenly and sagged against him. Griff gently nudged him to lie back on the mattress. “Sleep. Go in morning.”

“Okay,” was all he said before his breathing smoothed out into sleep.

Griff waited until he was soundly under before standing up. He needed to do some scrounging while Lex slept. They still had over two hundred miles to go.


	2. September 29 to October 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to update. I'm in the middle of moving and starting a new job. I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit faster.

**September 29**

When Lex woke up the next morning, he was still blind. He knew it because he could feel the sun on his face, but his world was still dark. He listened and couldn’t hear Griff. He took a tentative sniff and couldn’t smell the man either.

He knew the heat suppressors made him less sensitive to pheromones, but he could still smell them, and Griff’s scent had seemed particularly strong. However, the only whiff he got was old, as if the man had been here several hours ago but wasn’t here now.

He wondered where he was. Had he left? It might be better if he had. Lex was going to just slow him down. It was a long way to Kansas on foot. The thought of walking even a mile blind was terrifying. Walking farther? He wasn’t sure he could do that.

A door opened, and he heard footsteps and smelled Griff’s Alpha scent mixed with fresh sweat.

“You’re awake. Good. Need to leave. Want to go as far as we can today.”

Lex realized that was one of the longest speeches he’d heard from the man so far.

“You might want to leave me here. Go on without me. I’m only going to slow you down.” He didn’t know what he’d do if Griff actually took him up on it, but he’d figure something out.

“No,” came Griff’s immediate and firm response.

“I don’t know how far I can walk or even how to walk while blind.”

He heard a raspy chuckle from the other man. “Walking while blind exactly the same as walking sighted.”

Lex threw up his hands in frustration. “You know what I mean. I can’t see where I’m going, and what? You’re going to hold my hand the entire way?”

“No.” Griff moved closer and took one of Lex’s hands, guiding it to his torso where he encountered...was that a harness? With what felt like a short dog leash attached to it? Lex got it.

“You’re going to be my seeing eye person?”

“Yes.”

“I’m still going to trip over something.”

“Won’t let you.”

Griff sounded quite certain. Lex didn’t really want to be left behind, and the harness eliminated his best reason to argue.

“All right,” he said. “I guess it’s at least worth a try.”

Griff put something in his hand. Lex took it and heard the crinkle of plastic and felt the smoothness of a wrapper. “Breakfast?”

Griff didn’t answer, and Lex didn’t expect he would. He was starting to get used to the fact that he was with someone of very few words. Well, he was usually good for providing ample chatter of his own.

He ripped into the package. It was some sort of nutrition bar. Boring but probably good for him. He wanted to know where Griff had found it and how much food they had, but maybe he was happier not knowing. He decided there was one advantage to being blind. He couldn’t see their supplies or lack thereof.

**September 30**

The harness worked, after a fashion. Griff had to remember to pay attention to the ground, which was a challenge for him. He had been trained to keep alert for danger from every direction. However, of course, any time he shifted his attention to the the distance was when he missed a hollow or loose bit of gravel that Lex slid into or tripped over. Lex was going to need sturdier pants before too long. And gloves might not be a bad idea either, to protect his hands.

Griff slowly got better at it. Lex started to trust him, and they walked at a more normal pace, but they still didn’t make more than three miles that first day. Griff tried not to let it frustrate him. He could have done twenty or more. When he’d planned this trip, while carrying Lex over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry, he’d estimated two weeks or so. He’d figured on doing twenty miles or so a day, which meant ten days to where they were going from when Lex woke up.

If they could only manage three miles a day, it was going to take them more than two months. He didn’t think Lex had more than two weeks of his suppressants, and Griff definitely didn’t have that much of his own meds. He might be able to find more, but there were no guarantees. They really didn’t need Lex to go into heat out in the middle of nowhere. Griff was pretty sure Lex wouldn’t want his help--most Omegas who took suppressants did so to avoid having to have sex with an Alpha. However, being within scent range of an Omega in heat was going to be pure torture. All that torment and no way to ease it.

And Griff running out of his meds? No, that wasn’t anything to think about too long.

“I’m sorry,” Lex said when they collapsed that evening in the dubious shelter of a small hollow. Griff would have preferred something better, but the evening was mild for late September, and he didn’t smell any approaching rain. He thought they’d be okay for one night.

“You could have gone way farther without me. Sure you don’t want to reconsider dragging me along?”

“No,” was all Griff said. He was thinking. He hoped they could make Strasburg by tomorrow. He estimated they had another six to eight miles to go, and they needed practical supplies. He’d scrounged up enough nutrition bars for a few days but no more. Griff needed calories. His Alpha metabolism burned hot and fast. Lex was healing and, while the man wasn’t in bad shape, he wasn’t fit for this kind of travel. He’d need extra calories while he adapted. Also, Lex needed sturdy boots and jeans. Otherwise he’d never be able to handle more than eight miles in a day. While better than three, that was still too slow. They needed to get to Jericho soon. Wandering in the wilderness with a blind Omega was asking for trouble.

“What are you thinking? I mean, I know talking is hard for you, but if I know what you’re planning, I might be able to help or at least have a clue what you need from me.”

Lex was right. Now how to explain without destroying what was left of his voice?

“Going to Jericho. 200 miles. Need supplies. Food. Boots. Jeans. Your meds maybe. Strasburg about six to eight more miles ahead. Might get most of that there.”

Lex nodded. “Okay. So we need to pick up the pace. Because if we don’t go faster, it’ll be winter before we get to this Jericho place.” He rubbed his feet, which he’d removed from the sensible dress shoes he’d been wearing. They were comfortable for what they were but were not appropriate for this kind of travel. “Yeah. I need better shoes. I don’t think I can manage more than a few miles a day in these.” He rubbed his feet, and Griff thought he was thinking. Finally, he said, “How willing do you think the good people of Strasburg will be to part with these things?”

“Assume not.”

Lex nodded. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking too. So you’ll need to park me somewhere safeish while you go in and...do what you need to do. Are you the kind of Alpha that can do...what’s needed?”

If Lex only knew who he was with. But Griff wasn’t ready to tell him yet. If all went well, he’d be able to drop him in Jericho and Griff could move on with Lex never the wiser.

Although he had to admit it hurt to think of never seeing him again. Even with the suppressants, Griff liked his scent. Liked it a lot. Maybe too much.

However, all he said was, “Yes.”

“Why were you in the building Stiles and I were in anyway?”

That was one of the questions he’d hoped Lex wouldn’t ask. Of course, it wasn’t as bad as if Lex remembered what Griff had blurted out just after Lex had woken up. Griff still mentally kicked himself for saying that Stiles was dead. He shouldn’t have known who Stiles was, much less that he was dead.

“Meeting someone,” he said. It was true enough, and he was going to lean hard on his inability to speak as a way to avoid answering the question more completely. Which was unlikely to end well.

“Oh,” Lex said. ‘I’m going to guess they didn’t get out alive?”

“No.” Which was also true enough.

“I’m sorry. And I got off track. You’ll need to park me somewhere so you can go into town without me holding you back?”

“Yes. Find safe place first.” He knew there were few safe places in this new world, but he’d do what he could. Fortunately, they were in an area of low population. So it was unlikely anyone would stumble across Lex.

Lex sighed and did his best to settle himself on the ground. The hollow was slightly sheltered but was not even a little bit comfortable. Griff considered for a moment before taking off his jacket and bunching it up to make a pillow for Lex. It was a sad excuse for one but better than nothing. He handed it over. “Pillow.”

Lex sat up and took it, turning it in his hands. “This is your jacket. I can’t take it. You’ll freeze.”

“Don’t feel cold much.” His metabolism ran so hot that it needed to be much colder than this before he’d be in danger. He mostly wore layers because it looked weird if he didn’t. It was easier for him to be too warm than to draw attention to himself by wearing too little.

“You sure?”

Griff answered by closing Lex’s hands around the jacket. “Sleep.”

Lex settled back down, head resting on the jacket. Griff smiled as he noticed the Omega inhaling deeply as he lay back down. That had been his other reason for handing it over. Even with the suppressants dulling his senses, sleeping on Alpha smell should help him rest.

Griff settled himself against the side of the hollow. He’d get some sleep later. For now, he’d stay on watch.

**October 1**

Lex did his best to set a faster pace the next morning. He’d slept surprisingly well, and his head had finally stopped aching. He was learning to trust Griff’s guidance and was fighting him less. It was still hard, and he stumbled frequently, but he was getting better.

They arrived near Strasburg by early afternoon, which was much better time than the previous day. Lex thought he’d do even better the next day if he had decent boots.

Griff found a spot and said, “Stay here. Brushy windbreak. You’re out of sight.”

Those had been almost the only words Griff had spoken all day, and Lex wished he could see to sign with him. There was so much he wanted to know, but he could hear the strain when Griff spoke, and he hated to make him hurt that much.

He settled against the brush. “How long do you think you’ll be gone?” Now that Griff was actually leaving, he was nervous. He knew he was probably perfectly safe here, but it was unnerving to be left alone in a strange place without being able to see anything around him.

“Hour or so?” Griff answered. “Be as quick as I can.”

“All right.” It totally wasn’t, but what could he say? They needed supplies, and he wasn’t the one to go get them.

He heard Griff moving off, and he huddled in on himself, knowing that making himself smaller wasn’t actually going to make a difference but not able to stop himself.

He took as deep a breath as he could, trying to hold Griff’s scent, but it vanished as quickly as the Alpha’s steps had. Once he was completely alone he closed his eyes in an attempt to fool himself into thinking his darkness was by his own choice.

Because he had denied his biology for so long, he was unaware of how strongly he was giving off the scent of a scared Omega.


	3. October 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning. All those rape and non-con warnings? This is the chapter. Nothing too graphic but certainly dark.

As soon as Griff was out of earshot of Lex, he adjusted his stride. Even though Lex couldn’t see him, Griff had been deliberately controlling his body language to make himself seem less threatening. Now that he was going into an unknown situation, he lengthened his stride, making it smoother and predatory. He held himself up straighter. He was one of the shortest Alphas he’d ever met, being several inches below six feet, but he’d been trained well and had learned to use body posture and attitude to make himself appear more threatening. He’d also been taught biofeedback techniques to give him conscious control of his scent glands. He’d been putting out as much soothing scent as he could for Lex, but now he changed to _big bad don’t mess with me Alpha_. He hated the training he’d gone through, but he had to acknowledge that it made things easier right now. Most Alphas operated basically on instinct, which gave him a significant advantage.

As he got closer to Strasburg, his instincts started pinging him. Something was wrong. However, it wasn’t until he got closer that he started to figure out why.

As soon as he reached the town limits, the smell of frightened Omega overwhelmed him. The town had a population of less than three thousand. With the usual ratio of Alpha/Beta/Omega, there should be no more than three hundred Omegas in the town, and a fair number of them would be children with undeveloped scent glands. But for Griff to be overwhelmed like that, there had to be more like...five hundred or so? Why were there so many Omegas here?

His steps slowed, and he tested the air. It was hard to detect over the frightened Omegas but if he strained, he could just smell Alphas. Alphas in rut. He was not liking the picture he was getting here.

He dialed back his own scent, not wanting to be discovered. He could handle a couple of rowdy Alphas if needed, but this wasn’t the disorganized, frightened town he had envisioned. Whatever was going on here was under someone’s control.

He’d been walking openly, not wanting to give the wrong impression by being sneaky, but since the situation was not what he’d expected, he ducked under the cover of a nearby building and moved with more stealth, using buildings and parked cars to conceal his movements. It didn’t take him long to find where the Omegas were, and when he saw them, he finally understood the phrase “saw red.” Every instinct in him, both as an Alpha and as a decent human being, screamed _Do Something_, but he knew he couldn’t. There was only one of him.

At roughly the center of Strasburg, in what looked like a high school football field, milled many hundreds of Omegas. They were packed into the fenced-in area much like cattle waiting to be slaughtered. Only he knew slaughter wasn’t what lay in store for them. The air positively reeked of terrified Omega, and Griff had to grit his teeth against the urge to run in and rescue them all. More disturbingly, he could tell that a significant percentage of them were in heat, although it smelled off to him in some way.

Armed Betas patrolled the perimeter of the makeshift enclosure, eyes darting everywhere. Other Betas moved among the Omegas, some of them selecting individuals and escorting them out of the field. Others were handing out...were those pills?

That’s when he understood the strange odor. There weren’t just pills to suppress heat. There were also drugs to induce it.

He was fairly certain the Omegas being escorted away were in heat. Even from his distance, he recognized the uncomfortable gait and desperate body language. As he watched, one Omega, a male, was led to a nearby building, a trailer he assumed had once been a classroom, fairly common in under-funded school districts. The Omega was shoved inside, and the Beta closed the door and settled himself in as if to wait.

It was hard to sense over the roiling scent of scared Omegas, but Griff was pretty sure he could still smell Alphas in rut.

So they were gathering all the Omegas they could find? Making them go into heat and breeding them? It was either a surprisingly long-view kind of plan or a bad case of Alpha ego. He wasn’t sure which. Nor was he going to find out. He had supplies to get and his own Omega to get back to. As soon as he thought that, he swore to himself. They were obviously gathering up Omegas, and he’d just left a distressed and basically helpless Omega about a mile from town.

He’d spotted a hunting and camping supply store on his way, and he quickly backtracked to it. The one good thing about the situation was that he hadn’t seen anyone moving about town. He hoped the store was both unguarded and not yet looted.

Griff was in luck. He approached the store with caution, alert for anyone who might be watching or guarding it. He neither saw nor scented anyone. He wouldn’t necessarily smell a Beta, but a quick circuit of the store revealed no one. To his shock, the door was unlocked, and when he went inside, he saw the place and its stores were intact.

He quickly moved through the store, picking up what he needed. He found a couple pairs of sturdy jeans in their size--he and Lex were basically of a height, although Griff carried more muscle. He also found a heavier jacket for Lex, a pair of hiking boots and boot socks. Freeze-dried camping food, nutrition bars and a tiny JetBoil stove completed what he needed. He tossed everything into two backpacks and started to leave the store. Then he stopped, eyeing the gun display. He considered for a moment, shrugged and picked up a good quality rifle and several boxes of ammunition.

As he looted the place, he shook his head. These townspeople were so clueless. If he had half a dozen of the other Alphas he’d trained with plus some body armor, they could take this town before the untrained town Alphas knew what hit them. It was the first time ever that he’d wished to have his fellow operatives around.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he shouldered the two backpacks and started for the edge of town. It hurt to leave behind the Omegas, but he couldn’t save them all. He could, however, save the one who was important to him.

***

Lex had too much time to think after Griff had left. While the logical part of his brain knew he’d had his world turned upside down by the bombs, the rest of him thought he should be handling this better. He was a trained CIA agent. Blind or not, he should be freaking out less, right?

He was too wrapped up in his story to recognize that, all things considered, he was actually handling everything quite well.

On some level he knew he compared himself too much to Stiles, which was ridiculous. He and Stiles had different skills, both useful and complementary, but he’d never questioned too much why he looked up to Stiles the way he had. And now he was in a situation he’d sworn he’d never be in: completely dependent upon an Alpha. While he thought he might like Griff, he hated the situation.

He heard a noise. Were those footfalls? Where were they coming from? Was it Griff coming back?

He realized his heart rate had spiked and his breathing had increased. Lex forced himself to take a few deep breaths. It was probably nothing.

He heard the sound again. Feet on dried grass? Weren’t blind people supposed to have sharper senses? Okay, that probably only came with time and practice. He concentrated and heard it again. Definitely behind him, in the opposite direction of where Griff had gone. So unless the Alpha had circled around on his way back, it wasn’t Griff.

His nose twitched, and he scented something. Lex took a deeper breath and cursed both his biology and his resistance to paying attention to what being an Omega meant. _Calm down. Use your brain. You’re an analyst, so analyze._

Alpha scent. Not Griff, he thought. He took a quick sniff of his arm where Griff had touched him earlier. Then he compared that smell with what he was picking up around him.

Definitely not Griff. So who?

A tiny alarm going off in his head suddenly got louder. Not _just_ an Alpha. An Alpha in rut.

Oh fuck! He was in serious trouble.

What could he do? He wished Griff had described his surroundings. Or that he’d explored them instead of sitting and feeling sorry for himself. Was he surrounded on all sides or just the side facing Strasburg? How deep was the stand of brush?

Before he had time to do much more than wonder, the Alpha spoke. “What do we have here? One scared scrawny Omega? Bet I can have fun with you.”

Terror shot through Lex as he realized what the Alpha intended. He tried to back away from the Alpha, but the brush at his back was too thick to push through easily.

A presence loomed over him, and he smelled dried sweat and cheap liquor under the Alpha scent. Was he drunk? Could be use that to his advantage somehow?

A hand fumbled at his waist, and Lex jumped and tried to fight back.

“Oh, you’re a fighter. I like that. We’ll have some fun, you and I.” The hand ripped his waist pack from him, and Lex heard the zipper opening. “Useless. Worthless.” Items hit the ground. “Well, what have we here? Your name is Lex, little Omega? That’s a funny name.”

Lex shifted to one side. Even though he couldn’t see, he couldn’t just stay here and let the Alpha do...whatever he was going to do. Could he make a run for it? He sort of remembered the terrain Griff had led him over.

“Oh, these won’t do.”

Lex froze when he heard the distinctive clatter of his pill bottle. The Alpha had his pills! No. He needed those. He couldn’t go into heat. Not ever again. The next sound he heard was the rattle of pills hitting the ground followed by a boot twisting. Finally, the soft thump and roll of a plastic bottle.

Lex panicked, and he threw himself where he’d heard the pills hit the ground. Before he’d gone even a few feet, a large hand gripped his arm.

“Oh, no. You’re not going anywhere. I’ll take you to town in good time, but for now, I want to have a little party.”

Alpha scent swirled around him as the man threw him back to the ground. Hands ripped away his pants and yanked down his underwear. Lex struggled in earnest now, twisting his head to bite the hand that held his arm.

The man yelled and cuffed him, making his head swim for a moment. As his senses returned, the scent of an Alpha in rut grew stronger. To his horror, even though his senses were dulled by the pills, he found himself growing hard. No! He didn’t want this! He wanted to get away. He twisted to bite again, but the man held his head still with one hand.

The other roughly palmed him. “That’s right, little one. Get yourself good and ready for me. You’re going to have fun at this little party.”

Still holding Lex’s head and neck still with one hand, he turned him over and pushed him face down on the ground, driving dirt in his mouth. Lex choked on the taste and bucked against him, attempting to head butt the man backwards, but the Alpha avoided all of his efforts. He moved his hand to Lex’s back, pressing and holding him on the ground. The Alpha was strong, and Lex couldn’t dislodge him. His erect dick grated painfully against the ground, and he wanted to curl up to protect it, but the man easily held him still.

With the other hand, he spread Lex’s legs apart, and he screamed, knowing what was about to happen. The Alpha put a knee between Lex’s legs, keeping them apart. His hand moved away, and Lex heard the scrape of a zipper. He screamed again.

“That’s right, little one. Go ahead and scream. No one’s gonna come save you. But I like it when they fight. Makes me even harder. I’m going to knot you but good.”

Something pressed against Lex’s entrance, and he struggled to close his legs. But the Alpha was too strong. He steeled himself against the pain to come.

Then he scented another Alpha, and he knew he was going to be raped twice. He was nothing more than a blind helpless victim.

Suddenly, the weight on his back went away, and he heard a scuffle going on just a few feet away from him. What?

That’s when he recognized the scent of the other Alpha. Was it really Griff?

The Alpha who had been about to rape him was yelling now, swearing at his assailant to “Let him go! The other Alphas’ll teach you a lesson! Was this dirty Omega his?”

Griff, if it was him, said nothing. Lex heard fists impact flesh followed by a scream of outraged pain. Then came a sound he’d heard only one time, and it chilled him.

A knife slicing across neck cartilage. Warm liquid splashed him, and he knew it must be blood.

Then there was silence. Had he been rescued, or was he now at the mercy of a different assailant? He knew he should run, but his terror caught up to him, and all he could do was curl up in an attempt to hide and protect his nakedness.

He rocked back and forth and waited for what would happen next.

***

Griff had jogged back from Strasburg as quickly as he could. He’d been trained in distance running, and he knew how to pace himself, even carrying both packs. He’d left Lex about two miles from town, and he estimated it would take him about fifteen minutes to get back. His worries made it feel twice that long, but his legs moved precisely, carrying him at a ground covering pace.

When he was maybe a quarter of a mile away, he heard a scream, and, even though he’d never heard Lex scream, he knew who it was. He didn’t have time to stop and scent the air properly, but he was fairly certain the breeze was bringing him frightened Omega and Alpha in rut.

Exactly what he had feared was happening. He ran faster while still moving at a pace that kept him alert to his surroundings. He didn’t want to rush in and learn too late that the Alpha was backed up by one or more Betas, which he wouldn’t scent until he was too close.

As soon as he could see the brush he’d left Lex behind, he dropped the packs and the rifle. While he was comfortable with guns, he preferred close fighting, and he drew his knife as he ran.

Timing his approach and measuring the distance, he leaped the brush pile and landed in a crouch, one hand on the ground, the other gripping his knife. The sight that greeted him was what he had expected. Lex on the ground, naked from the waist down, a burly Alpha, jeans half around his ankles, crouched over him.

The Alpha was lost in what he was doing and hadn’t yet noticed Griff, who charged as silently as he could. He lowered one shoulder and hit the Alpha squarely in his side, knocking him away from Lex. If Lex hadn’t been blind, he would have told him to run, but he didn’t waste the breath.

The Alpha recovered more quickly than Griff had expected. Instead of struggling with his jeans, he ripped them off his legs. Griff noted the strength that required and resolved not to underestimate him. He was yelling something, but Griff paid it little mind.

Giving him no more time, he rushed the Alpha again, this time ramming his shoulder in the other man’s stomach. The Alpha staggered back, temporarily out of breath. Griff punched him once, twice. The Alpha had recovered just enough to scream. Griff grabbed him, turned him and sliced his neck open with his knife.

The Alpha dropped, choking out the last of his breath.

Griff took a moment to check the Alpha was dying. He was, and he wasn't going to be a danger while he did. Still keeping a cautious eye on him, he turned his attention to Lex.

The Omega was huddled on the ground, curled in on himself, knees held tight against his chest, arms wrapped around them. He still had his shirt, but no pants or underwear. Griff searched the ground and found both articles of clothing. The pants were ripped and not wearable. Fortunately, the underwear looked okay. He made a mental note to find more as soon as possible.

“Lex. Handing you underwear.” He reached out carefully, only touching his arm with the cloth. The Omega still startled at the contact. “Not touching you. Just giving this to you.”

Lex reached out and fumbled for the clothing. Griff put it in his hand. Lex put them on and resumed his huddle. It wasn't quite as tight, though.

“Alpha dead. Have new clothes. Need to go back for them.”

“No. Don't leave,” Lex said, head still facing his knees.

“Can't stay here. Need to go. Can't leave without supplies.”

Lex shivered. Griff longed to touch him, but he knew from experience that it wouldn't be welcomed yet. The best he could do was move closer and hope his scent would calm the frightened Omega.

“Can come with.”

Lex started to shake his head but then stopped and said, “Okay. Guide me?”

Griff raised an eyebrow. Lex was made of sturdier stuff than he had thought. He'd never taken off the harness, but he had rolled up the guide strap and put it in his pocket. He got it out and fastened it to the harness. Then he reached out and said, “Strap in front of you.”

Lex raised his head, reached out and found it. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed it and stood up. “Go slow?”

“Yes,” Griff said.

They walked back to where Griff had dropped the packs. It took them longer than he preferred, and he scented the air constantly, hoping no other Alphas from Strasburg came by. As soon as they arrived, Griff said, “Get clothes.”

Lex waited, arms wrapped around himself. Tears rolled down his face, but he made no sound. Griff got out clothes.

“Jeans, boots, socks.” He placed the clothing at Lex's feet. “On ground.”

Lex lowered himself, found the clothes and slowly dressed himself. Griff also handed him the heavier jacket, which he huddled into.

“Need to go. Two more miles if we can.”

Lex nodded and reached out for the strap, which Griff put into his hand, again being careful not to touch him.

They made slow progress, but Griff could tell Lex was trying to move as fast as possible. Griff had been traveling over land, away from the highway, but, in the interests of getting as far away from Strasburg as possible, he angled for the highway, which was much smoother and easier for guiding Lex.

He estimated they had gone three more miles before it was obvious the Omega wasn't going to be able to go any farther. Just as the sun was setting, Griff thought he saw a small building in the distance. (189)

“Shelter ahead. Just a little farther.”

Lex's face was tight with strain, and tear tracks were still visible, but he nodded.

As they got closer, Griff could see the building. It wasn't much. He thought it was an abandoned store or the like. Several hundred feet away, he stopped. “Want to check out first.”

Lex shivered but said nothing. Griff wasn't even sure how aware he was of his surroundings at the moment. His scent spoke of nothing but misery, and Griff resolved to try to touch him when they got to shelter. If he could get the Omega close enough, his Alpha scent might soothe him.

Griff gently unfastened the strap, judging that to be easier than trying to take it from Lex's tight grip. He jogged over to the building and quickly determined it to be abandoned. Most of the windows were broken, and one side of it had caved in, but it would provide more shelter than the hollow they had used the night before. Lex wouldn't know how ramshackle it really was, but, even blind, he'd sense he was under cover. It might help him to recover a bit.

He trotted back and clipped the strap back to the harness. “Abandoned. Good shelter.”

He started walking slowly. It took Lex a moment, but he finally followed. When they got to the former store, Griff said, “Need to take your hand. Guide you past broken glass.”

He held his breath, not sure Lex would agree to be touched. After a long moment, Lex reached out his hand. Griff took it and guided him past the shattered remains of large plate glass windows. There was a small room at the back of the store which might have once been an office. To his delight, Griff saw a small cot. The mattress was moldy but mostly intact.

“Sit here. Bed.”

Lex lowered himself carefully. As soon as he was sitting, he reached out to find the edges of the cot and curled up in a tight ball. Griff decided it would do for now.

He explored the store, making enough noise that Lex would know where he was at all times. Luck was with him. He found several unopened bottles of water in a corner. He even found two Snickers bars with undamaged wrappers. With this, he could make a better dinner than he'd planned.

He opened one bottle of water and set up the JetBoil. Within minutes, he had boiling water, and he ripped into two packets of freeze dried food. Adding hot water, he sat back and waited for the food to be ready. Along with the food, he'd found camping utensils, and he took out two spoons.

Lex didn't move during the preparations, but Griff heard the occasional hitching breath that told him the Omega was crying. As soon as the food was ready, he picked up one of the packages and moved close to the cot. “Lex. Food.”

Lex shook his head and huddled into a tighter ball.

“Feel better if eat.”

He shook his head again.

Griff considered. What inducement did he have to get him to eat? He opened the package, hoping the smell would get through to him.

He lucked out. Lex uncurled and sat up. “What is it? It does smell good.”

Griff hadn't paid attention to what he had gotten out of the pack. He picked up the packages and read them. “Beef Stroganoff and Lasagna.”

Lex’s gaze seemed to go more unfocused than usual, which Griff took to mean he was thinking. “Stroganoff, I guess. That almost sounds good.”

Griff was just happy he was going to eat, and he didn’t care. He’d stopped caring about the taste of food years ago. As long as it kept his body going, it was fine with him. He handed over the stroganoff. “In front of you.” Lex took it and Griff nudged his hand with the spoon, which he also took. Lex gingerly felt the top, apparently realized it was open and stuck the spoon in. He ate slowly.

Griff downed his own meal quickly. He was still hungry, but there was no urgency to it. He watched Lex, hoping he’d eat at least most of his meal.

No such luck. Lex slowed down after what Griff thought was about half of his meal. He held out the package in Griff’s general direction. “Here,” he said. “I can’t eat any more.”

“Certain?” Griff asked.

Lex nodded. “Yeah.”

Griff took the package and ate the rest of it, not seeing any point in wasting it.

“Did you see my pills?” Lex asked. “Were there any that weren’t damaged?” His tone was resigned, as if he knew the answer but was vaguely hoping for something different.

Griff remembered seeing a pill bottle on the ground and some smashed pills in the dirt. “All damaged,” he said.

Lex nodded, gave a hitching sob and huddled on the bed. Griff sat on the floor, wanting to do something but not sure what.

Lex looked up. Griff noticed he was getting better at looking in the right direction. It was almost possible to forget for a moment that he was blind. He opened his mouth, closed it again and finally said, “Can I come over by you?”

Griff’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected that. “Yes. Take my hand?”

Lex put out his hand, and Griff guided him past the JetBoil. Lex sat beside him and tucked himself under Griff’s arm. The Alpha managed to suppress his sigh of relief. He’d been wanting to hold him ever since he’d gotten him away from the other Alpha. He dared to gently turn Lex’s head so that he was near Griff’s scent gland. The Omega breathed in deeply.

“Smells good.”

Griff smiled as he felt Lex’s shoulders relax under his arm. They sat there for a while, and Griff considered. Finally, he decided to just ask. “How many heats?”

Lex stirred, took another deep breath and asked, “How many have I had, you mean?”

Griff nodded, figuring Lex could feel the motion.

“Just the first one.”

Griff had suspected it was something like that. “Tell me?”

It was a long moment before Lex answered. “I was twenty-two. Late to it. I’d started to wonder if I was sterile and wouldn’t ever get them.” He sighed. “I’d quit college to start my own company. Cyber security. I’d been good at computers and hacking since I was young. We’d grown and just gone public. It was the second Board meeting since the IPO. I should have realized something was up when I walked in and the three Alphas on the Board went on alert. I’d been on edge for a couple of days but didn’t make the connection.

“So about half-way through the Board meeting, it hit. I was so fucking hard and everything just hurt. I got out of there, locked myself in my office and suffered for three days. By the time I was over it, they had voted me out as CEO and drawn up papers to buy me out.”

Griff tightened his grip, enough to offer support but not so much to make Lex feel confined.

“It was the most humiliating thing I’d ever experienced. I mean, they were outwardly nice about it. But it was clear they didn’t think I was capable of running the company and wanted me gone. They bought me out for a fair price.

“I went to a doctor and got ointment for my dick and a prescription for suppressants. Said I’d never go through another heat again. Joshua, my boss at the CIA, heard that I was available and hired me. They were just as happy to have an unmated Omega who was okay with being on the pills, and I’ve been working there ever since.”

Griff wasn’t sure what to say. Being on the pills for that long would have messed with his cycle, not that he’d ever developed a regular one. So no telling how long it would be before he’d have another one. Assuming they could pick up the pace a bit, they were still looking at anywhere between two weeks and a month before they’d get to Jericho. Odds were he’d have one before then.

“I’m going to have another one before we get where we’re going, aren’t I?” His voice was full of despair.

“Maybe,” Griff said. It was the truth.

“Don’t bother to spare me. I know how this is likely to work. I’d had two weeks left, which I hoped might get me somewhere we could get more.”

Griff didn’t have much to offer, but he gave what he could. “Will know a day or two before.”

“You’ll be able to smell it, right?”

Griff nodded. “Find safe place if I can. Guard you until it’s over.”

Lex straightened up. “You mean you won’t knot me?”

“Not unless you ask.”

“Not sure I’ll be able to stop myself.” He shuddered, and Griff knew he was remembering what it had been like. Griff had seen Omegas in heat without an Alpha. It was… Painful didn’t even begin to describe it.

“Won’t. Ask you before it starts. What you say then I’ll honor.”

“You’ve been...through sex without consent before, haven’t you?” Lex asked.

Griff noticed he had carefully avoided the word “rape.”

“Yes. Raped by a female Beta.”

He closed his eyes against the memory of the woman. Coming to him at night. Thinking it was just a dream. Finding out later it hadn’t been. The horrors that had followed that violation.

“How? You’re an Alpha?” As soon as he’d spoken, he added, “I’m sorry. That’s private. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Is fine. She drugged me.”

Lex’s arm crept around Griff’s waist. “I’m sorry.”

“Is past.”

“Still. It shouldn’t have happened. But thank you for saying you’ll go with what I want.”

Griff considered for a moment. “Have something.” He reached out and picked up one of the Snickers bars. He handed it to Lex, who took it and turned it in his hand.

“What is it?”

“Snickers.”

“I don’t know if I can eat any more.”

Griff closed his hand around the candy. “Try.”

Lex shrugged and carefully unwrapped it. He sniffed it and took a cautious bite. Then another. To Griff’s satisfaction, the Omega slowly ate the whole thing.

“That was good,” he said when he finished. “Thank you.”

Griff took the wrapper from him, intending to bury it and their other trash as soon as Lex was asleep. He wanted to leave as little evidence of their presence as possible.

“Need sleep now,” he said.

Lex suddenly yawned. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Griff guided him to the bed and watched while Lex settled himself. He laid the new jacket over him. It was a poor excuse for a blanket, but it was what they had.

“Thank you,” Lex said. “For listening and sharing.”

“Welcome.”

Griff settled himself against a nearby wall, and he listened while Lex’s breath evened into sleep. They were in the middle of a virtually unpopulated area. He had no idea where he’d find the safe place he’d promised Lex. But he’d figure something out.

As soon as he was sure the Omega was asleep, he went outside to bury their trash and watch the stars for a few minutes. Out here in the middle of nowhere, they twinkled brightly in the sky and brought him a bit of peace.


	4. October 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now Griff's back story. Remember, this IS Griff.
> 
> And Lex proving that, even blind, he's still a hacker.

They made good time the next day. Griff had decided to stay on the highway, and Lex had managed to keep up with little trouble. He hated that he was getting used to being blind, but he supposed it was for the best. After his talk with Griff, he’d actually gotten a mostly decent night’s sleep, which he’d found surprising after his encounter with the Alpha. He’d had a couple of nightmares, which had been weird because in the dream he’d seen the Alpha looming over him. He didn’t remember any details of the man, but he’d been sure the dream had visuals. However, each time he’d startled awake, he’d sensed Griff nearby, and the presence of the Alpha had been comforting. He knew Griff would protect him.

As they walked, he’d considered whether he wanted the Alpha to help him through his next heat. He didn’t want to go through the misery of the first one, but he also wasn’t sure he was ready to put that level of trust in Griff. Lex hoped he’d have enough time to learn more about him before he had to decide. Not to mention the risk of pregnancy. His heart sank. Blind was bad enough. But blind _and_ pregnant? No way he could risk that.

Then things almost went to hell over dinner.

They hadn’t found real shelter, but Griff had found another hollow and had fixed another freeze dried meal. This one was some sort of chicken and rice thing and had peppers, which he didn’t like. But it was food, and after walking what the Alpha had said was ten miles, Lex knew he needed it. He was pretty sure he was going to get sick of the meals after a few more days, though.

Griff gave him another Snickers bar, saying it was the last one. Lex felt bad about taking it, but it tasted good, and after everything that had happened, he felt like he deserved a tiny indulgence.

As he savored the last bite of candy, he heard the rattle of what sounded like a pill bottle. Without really thinking about it, he asked, “What are you taking?”

The rattle stopped so suddenly that he knew Griff had frozen into stillness. He cursed himself. What was up with the personal questions? “I’m sorry. I know it’s not really any of my business, but I guess it might be helpful to know. In case you run low and we have to try to find more?”

He heard Griff’s swallow.

“Never mind. Uh. Just forget I asked.”

“No. Deserve to know.”

Lex waited, suddenly wanting to reach out to the Alpha, but not sure how or if it would even be welcomed.

“I’m HSS-282 positive. Meds control it.”

Lex was halfway across the hollow, scrambling on his butt before his brain had even caught up with him.

HSS-282 was colloquially called the “Evil Gene.” It was rare and manifested in Alphas, Betas and Omegas in roughly equivalent percentages to their respective population percentages. However, it manifested differently in each sex.

It had little noticeable effect on Omegas. If it did anything at all to them, it made them a bit more assertive. Literally no one cared about the gene in Omegas. Lex had occasionally wondered if he had it since he had few of the stereotypical Omega traits.

In Betas, it made them more prone to violent crime, especially rape and murder. Betas convicted of such crimes were routinely tested and put in special prisons and programs if it they were discovered to be HSS-282 positive.

Alphas, however, were an entirely different case. HSS-282 positive Alphas tended to extreme violence, and all the normal Alpha tendencies were heightened in them. They were considered extremely dangerous, and there had been much debate in the law enforcement and legal community about what to do with them. Many advocated euthanasia as soon as they were discovered, and several state and federal laws had almost passed which mandated testing of all Alphas at birth. Mandatory sterilization had almost been passed as well.

However, as with most genetic disorders, not all positive Alphas exhibited the violent tendencies, and that fact was what caused the more extreme laws to fall short of passage. At the moment, testing upon arrest was the usual process. When they were discovered to be positive, they were transferred to one of only two facilities in the country that were set up to manage them.

All those facts rushed through Lex’s brain as he tried to get as far away from Griff as possible. But then he heard a low sound of distress from the Alpha, and his brain caught up with him. He’d said something about medication, and not all positive Alphas were violent. So far Griff had been nothing but decent to him. Maybe he owed Griff the opportunity to explain.

He stopped moving. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. It’s just--” He trailed off. There wasn’t any good way to end that sentence.

“Okay. Expected that.”

Before he could talk himself out of it, he crawled forward until he sensed the Alpha in front of him. Reaching out, he touched Griff’s… arm? “Tell me. I told you about me. I’ll listen to you. As much as you want to tell me. And take as long as you need. It’s not like we’ve got anything but time.”

He heard Griff let out what sounded like a relieved sigh.

“Didn’t know about gene until five years ago. Did a bad thing. Was hospitalized by Beta who raped me.”

“Wait a minute. How did that even work?” Lex asked, hardly able to imagine either the horror of that or the failure of medical ethics.

“Too hard to explain.”

Lex nodded. Okay, that made sense. Damn this blindness. If only Griff could sign to him. “Sorry. Tell it your way.”

“Put into special program. Taught special skills.”

“You mean like knowing how to fight and navigate your way across country and scrounge food out of practically nowhere?” Shit, was he _flirting_ with Griff? With an Alpha who admitted to having the evil gene? And yet, he knew deep inside himself that Griff would never hurt him. It wasn’t just Alpha pheromones either. Lex just _knew_.

“Yes. Those. Plus others.”

It was a long moment before Griff answered, but Lex waited him out. Finally, Griff sighed again and said, “How to kill.”

He almost thought he was missing something obvious, but he was too caught up in trying to reconcile the Griff who had been so gentle and good with him with the HSS-282 positive Griff who was apparently some sort of trained special ops killer. Who sounded strangely like Stiles.

A warning bell went off deep in his awareness, but he ignored it for now.

“So I’m guessing this program you were in wasn’t exactly voluntary. Sign up or stay locked up?”

“Yes.”

Lex nodded. That made sense. So drugs to control the gene. Taught skills to make him able to operate alone. Wait a minute. “You’ve got the gene. Even with meds, letting you out to do...whatever it is you do...is dangerous. So they had to have some means of controlling you. A handler, probably. Backed up by--”

His head shot up and he faced where he thought Griff’s face was. “Do you have a tracking device on you?”

“Yes,” came the answer. It was hard to tell with Griff’s rough voice, but he thought the Alpha sounded surprised.

Lex grinned, feeling more in his element than he had since he’d woken up blind. “Where? Implanted?”

Griff took his hand and guided it to his...forearm maybe. Lex felt something rigid under his skin.

“How you know?” Griff asked.

“This is what I do. What I am trained for.” He spoke while digging in his waist pack, which Griff had recovered from the scene of the...fight. His brain skittered away from what had really happened there. He’d think about that later. Right now he had an interesting problem to solve.

He took out one of the two devices he always kept with him, glad that Griff had recovered them and hoping the other Alpha hadn’t damaged them. “I’m going to turn this on. Battery should be fine. But I’m going to need you to read me what’s on the display.”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Signal frequency detector. Basically it tells me if something is broadcasting and on what frequency. I want to find out a couple of things. One, is it still broadcasting, or was it damaged by the blast? Two, what’s it broadcasting over? If I know that, I might be able to jam it or otherwise stop it. We could remove it, I guess, but the conditions are crap for digging stuff out of your arm.”

“Don’t remove!”

Lex could hear the panic in his voice. “Okay. No removing. Probably a small explosive device or something like that?”

“Yes.”

“Right. Then disable if we can until I figure out a way to disarm the explosive.”

He turned on the device and held it over Griff’s arm until it started beeping. “Okay, it’s broadcasting. Read me off the number on the display.”

“97 Khz.”

Lex sat back on his heels. “Huh. Very low frequency. Also low power. Makes sense for something implanted in your arm. Do you know if it uses a battery or does something really weird like, I don’t know, gets power from your body in some way?”

Griff chuckled briefly before answering, “Battery.”

Lex nodded, still thinking. “Good. I wasn’t sure. I mean, I’m pretty sure those anti-radiation pills you’re giving me aren’t available on the open market so human powered radio transmitters didn’t seem completely far fetched.”

“True,” was all Griff said, but Lex could detect the humor in his tone.

“How often do they change your battery?” He frowned. “And do I even want to know what they have to do to change it?”

“Twice a year and no.”

“Right. Pretty much what I thought. How long has it been since they changed it?”

There was a pause, as if Griff was calculating. “Four or five months?”

Lex smiled. “Then, my friend, we are in business. I know how to disable it without blowing up your arm.”

“Good?”

“Yes, very good.” He dug into his waist pack again and pulled out a highly customized no-brand Android phone. He liked iPhones and used one, but for field missions, he had a lot more flexibility with Android. He turned it on and handed it to Griff.

“No signal,” Griff said after a moment.

“That’s okay, Griff. We’re not planning on making any calls. All we need to do is talk to the device in your arm, and this phone can do that.”

“What I do?”

“Hold it out to me.”

Griff touched his arm with the phone, and Lex put his thumb down over the print scanner.

“Still locked,” Griff said.

“As it should be. Fingerprint scanners are easy to beat, but they aren’t bad in conjunction with a passcode. Ready for it?”

“Yes.”

Lex started rattling off numbers, letters and symbols but did it slowly, so Griff had time to enter them. “0b9V8fUo$u3ansz0CwFgYTc%$OhUDK”

“Unlocked,” Griff finally said. “And how you remember that?”

Lex shrugged. “It’s what I do. Hacker thing. Okay, now we need to open a couple of apps.”

He walked Griff through every step, working from memory. First, he had him open several apps until he had one that was receiving a signal from the transmitter. Then he had him open another one to test if he could transmit to the device. Once he determined that he could, he asked Griff to open up a simple text editing app, and he dictated a short program. They copied and pasted the program into the transmitting app, and Lex told Griff to press “Send.”

Griff did so, and they waited a few minutes. While they waited, Griff asked. “What it do?”

“Basically, I told it to transmit really loudly and fast. To go that long between battery changes, I was thinking it wasn’t transmitting constantly. The third app I had you run confirmed that. So I’m having it transmit basically two months worth of stuff in about 5 minutes. I’m hoping that will burn out the battery.”

“Wow.”

Lex smiled, appreciating the approval from the Alpha. No, not because he was an Alpha. He liked the approval from _Griff_.

After they had waited for at least ten minutes, Lex had Griff open the receiver app.

“Nothing,” Griff said, sounding hopeful.

Lex grinned. Maybe this crazy idea had actually worked. “Test it with the frequency tester.”

Griff handed him the phone, and Lex heard him pick up the tester. He heard no beep from it. “Anything on the display?”

“No,” Griff said. Now Lex thought he sounded almost happy.

Lex couldn’t restrain his triumphant fist pump at the word. “I think we did it. You are now off the grid, my Alpha.” He coughed as soon as he realized what he’d said. “Umm. Sorry. I didn’t mean--”

Griff touched his arm. “Is all right. I know.”

And yet some part of Lex did want to call him that. How crazy was that? He’d never had the slightest interest in having an Alpha before, and now, he wanted one he barely knew? Who was dangerous? And a self-admitted killer?

Why did he feel so safe with Griff?

“Thank you,” Griff said, putting the tester in his hand.

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” He yawned. It wasn’t a real yawn. He wasn’t really that tired, but he needed to think. “I think I’m going to turn in.” If by “turn in” he meant try to find the least uncomfortable place on the ground.

“Good night,” Griff said.

Lex lay down, pulling the new jacket over his shoulders. He heard Griff settle himself nearby. His scent had changed since they’d destroyed the transmitter. He didn’t smell _happy_ exactly, but it seemed as if some stress had eased in him.

Lex had intended to work out some things before he slept, but before he had a chance to even organize his thoughts, he was out.

***

Griff sat nearby, listening to Lex sleep, his steady breaths soothing to the Alpha, who was caught between relief at having been able to share some of his story and terror at how close Lex was to figuring out that he’d killed Stiles. He was trying to keep the terror out of his scent, not wanting Lex to pick up on it.

Of course he hadn’t been able to tell his entire story, or even close to it. His difficulty with speaking was becoming a constant frustration. It had impacted him so little for the past few years that he’d almost stopped thinking about it. Now that he _wanted_ to be able to communicate more with Lex, he couldn’t.

He closed his eyes, thinking of all the things he hadn’t told Lex yet. About the sterilization without his consent. About Dana coming to him and telling him he could cooperate or stay in a drugged stupor the rest of his life. When she’d put it like that, he hadn’t even considered saying “no.”

Of course, once he found out what he was being trained to do, he’d considered backing out, but it had been too late.

The training itself hadn’t been that bad. It was more intense than his Army or FBI training, but it hadn’t been substantially different. He’d learned urban survival skills, sharpened his already excellent marksmanship and learned dirty hand-to-hand fighting. They’d taught him biofeedback to control his pheromone production and had drilled him in important locations around the country. Fortunately for their current situation, the Denver to Jericho route had featured prominently in their training.

They had covered anatomy and all the best and quickest ways to kill people. He’d been less than happy to learn he was being trained as an assassin, but he’d finally gotten to the point where he’d decided the world had done him wrong enough that maybe having the illusion of freedom was something he deserved. Once he’d been trained, he’d operated with little to no supervision, beyond the transmitter.

The only problem they had found in his training was getting him to kill Omegas. He had no problem with Alphas. He found he rather enjoyed testing himself against them. Betas were just there. A job to be done. But Omegas? No. Absolutely not.

They tried everything to change his mind. Punishing him with pain didn’t do it. One of his trainers deliberately damaged his vocal cords, saying, “I’m taking your voice away from you unless you agree to go on missions against Omegas.” Griff decided he didn’t need to speak that badly. They didn’t have family to threaten since they were all dead. Locking him in solitary didn’t work. No matter what they did, he still refused to kill or even harm Omegas.

He was good enough that they finally gave up on their attempts to persuade him. They made a note in his file to not send him against Omegas and left it. Until he received his latest mission from his newest handler. He’d never _liked_ any of his handlers, but the more successful missions he completed, the less they bothered him.

This latest one, though, was by far the worst he’d had. She thought she knew everything, and she second guessed him all the time. When she’d handed him his latest mission file, he hadn’t known what to think. The Alpha was fine. But he was being sent to kill an Omega. Had she not read his file?

He’d thought about refusing, but then he’d wondered if there wasn’t an opportunity in it. The organization he worked for had a big operation going, with lots of moving parts. Griff knew a few of them--he’d needed to know some things to do his job, and he picked up others. The unexpected advantage of his difficulty with speaking was that people assumed he was mentally deficient. He’d been amused at how even his original trainers, the ones who knew _why_ he couldn’t speak, made the same assumption.

He’d noticed the closer they got to the main event, the more distracted the people working in his division got. The fact that his handler hadn’t even read his file was one of the biggest indications of how distracted they’d gotten. Griff had decided to take the mission and see if a chance to skip his leash might present itself.

Of course, he hadn’t expected to end up saving the Omega he had been assigned to assassinate. Or to have said Omega disable the transmitter. His handlers would expect him to go to Jericho, so he couldn’t stay, but he hoped to drop off Lex where he’d be safe and then he could move on. The disruption in the country should provide lots of options for him to disappear. He thought if he was careful he might even be able to get along without his meds, as long as he stayed by himself.

It was a good plan, made even better with Lex’s help. There were just two potential problems. One, would Lex figure out that he was the one who killed Stiles, and would he tell the people of Jericho what he was? Two, assuming Lex didn’t figure it out, could Griff leave the Omega he was starting to like a bit too much?


	5. October 3 and 4

They travelled further the next day, or so Lex thought. He didn’t want to ask Griff. The problem with having so much time with his own thoughts was that he spent the time thinking.

He’d started by walking back through the steps he’d gone through to disable the transmitter. He was actually proud of that. Maybe he wasn’t completely useless, even blind. He had his brain, and he knew how to problem solve. Griff had worked well with him. With the skills he had, maybe they could be partners somehow? Like he had been with Stiles?

And that was when his thoughts derailed into another direction.

Some of the warnings he’d ignored yesterday came back, and he started putting things together. He wasn’t sure he liked the results of the equations he was solving. Griff had special skills. He’d never named the organization he worked for. Maybe government? Maybe not? If so, which government? He’d been in Denver when the bombs went off. He had exactly the right skills for this journey, almost as if he’d been placed there deliberately.

And the most troubling thing? He’d known Stiles was dead when Lex asked. Griff hadn’t asked who Stiles was, like anyone else would have. No, he just confirmed that Stiles was dead.

Griff knew that. Griff, who had demonstrated his skill in killing Alphas.

He shuddered at the memory of warm blood splashing him. His memories tried to take him back to what had happened before Griff had arrived, but, no, he wasn’t going to think about that. Focus on Griff. What Griff appeared to be. What he may have done.

Lex was pretty well convinced now that _may_ was the wrong word. What Griff _had_ done. He turned the facts over and over in his head while they walked. He tried putting them together in different ways, but really, they only fit together one way, didn’t they?

They didn’t speak while they traveled, but that was normal. Lex wondered if Griff had guessed the direction of his thoughts. The Alpha’s scent was...unsettled was the best word he could come up with.

Alpha scent was one more thing that worried Lex. He’d been off the suppressants for several days now, and his awareness of Griff’s scent was getting stronger. Did that mean his heat was getting close? What was he going to do then?

He knew that an Omega could be influenced by the scent of nearby Alphas. At least while the Omega was unmated, which Lex certainly was. Griff was unsettled. Was Lex picking up on that and making connections that weren’t there? He didn’t think so, but it would make things easier.

Oh, Hell, when had things ever been easy for him?

By the time they stopped for the night, Lex knew what he had to do. He waited until they had finished eating. He felt a sharp pang in his stomach when Griff handed him his dinner. He’d given Lex a stroganoff, and he could smell the chicken and peppers in what Griff was eating. The Alpha had noticed what Lex did and did not like, and he’d prepared accordingly.

Were those the actions of a man who had killed Stiles? If so, why was Griff being so good to Lex? Why hadn’t he killed him too?

As soon as he finished his meal, which he had barely tasted, he couldn’t delay any longer.

“Griff, I need to ask you something.”

“Yes,” was all the Alpha said in response. What did that mean? Had he guessed the question? Was he just indicating he was listening?

Lex swallowed hard, gathered what little courage he could find and asked, “Did you kill Stiles?”

“Yes.” Again the one word response.

Lex felt like his dinner was going to come right back up. He hadn’t been wrong. The puzzle pieces had fit together correctly. Griff had killed Stiles. An Alpha Lex had been almost sure he might have been in love with. Not that he could have had him. Stiles and Terri were meant for each other. But when he’d been working with the man, it had been nice to think...maybe?

And now it was gone. No hope. No chance. And it was because of the Alpha sitting across from him.

Fuck! What did he do now?

He stood up and started walking. He didn’t know where he was going. He couldn’t even see where he was going, but right then he didn’t care. Didn’t care if he tumbled into a ditch or fell down a fucking cliff. He just needed to be away from Griff. As far away as possible.

He’d half expected the Alpha to follow him, but he didn’t. He actually let him walk away. Maybe he wanted him gone? Maybe he’d been wanting to get rid of him from the start? But then why had he come back at Strasburg? He could have just kept on going. Why didn’t he view Lex the way the other Alpha had? As an unmated, available Omega ready for the taking?

He didn’t know how far he’d walked, but he suspected it hadn’t been far when he tripped on something and went down. Some half-remembered lesson from Stiles--oh fuck, even thinking his name hurt so much--had him rolling into a mostly controlled fall. He landed on his back, basically unhurt. If he’d had any pride left, he supposed it might have been bruised, but that was about it.

He lay there for a moment, wishing he could see the stars. He could almost capture the memory of them, and, for a moment, he saw them twinkling gently above him. But then there was only blackness. And bleakness. He curled on his side into as small a ball as he could make himself. One sob escaped him. Then another. Then the floodgates opened, and he cried for Stiles, for his blindness, for the near-rape, for everything he had lost.

As he cried himself to sleep, his last half-awake thought was that maybe he was also crying for having lost Griff.

But that was crazy? Right?

***

Griff watched Lex walk away. He wanted to go after him, to keep him from getting hurt, but he couldn’t. He knew Lex wouldn’t want it. Not after what Griff had just told him. But he couldn’t lie to him. He couldn’t. He could _not_ tell something, like he hadn’t told him about Stiles until he asked. But to lie? No, he couldn’t do that. There had been too many lies in his life. He wanted this...thing...whatever it was or wasn’t...to be based on honesty.

If Lex never wanted to have anything to do with him, Griff would honor that. Even if it hurt. And it did hurt to watch him walk away. He didn’t make it far, maybe 500 feet or so before Griff saw him fall. The moon was out and full tonight, and it gave him plenty of light to see by. So he knew Lex had just tripped. Nothing serious.

But it was serious, wasn’t it? The evening breeze carried Lex’s sobs to him. Broken sobs full of loss and despair. Griff had done that to him. And he had no idea what he could do to make it better.

He stood watch until Lex’s sobs faded away. The Omega wasn’t moving. Sleeping? Griff hoped so. Sleep would be a mercy right now. The morning would come, but they could deal with that then. He gathered up the detritus of their meal and scrabbled a shallow hole to bury it in. Then he moved their pitiful camp to be closer to Lex. Close enough that he could guard him. Far enough away that he wasn’t imposing his presence on him.

What to do now? Jericho was still the best place to go. Would Lex let him guide him? Did he have much choice? He was still blind. He’d never get there on his own. Without Griff’s help, he’d die out here. Hopefully, Lex would see that, and Griff would be able to get him there. He’d planned to leave as soon as he’d made sure Lex was safe. He hoped they would take him. Griff knew, or thought he knew, someone in Jericho. Someone who would probably allow him to stay.

He did some quick calculations. Since they’d been keeping close to the highway, he had a fairly good idea of how far they’d travelled. They had managed almost ten miles today, which was still far from the twenty Griff had imagined when they’d started, but it was a long way from the three they had managed the first day. He was hopeful they’d manage twelve or more tomorrow, assuming Lex accompanied him. He refused to consider the alternative. If they managed to pick up the pace to something between twelve and fifteen miles a day, it would take them close to two weeks to reach Jericho, assuming Griff could find more food and there were no major delays.

Like Lex’s heat. Griff was reasonably certain it was approaching. Maybe three or four days away, but it was coming. They would lose several days to that, which made finding more food critical. Along with some sort of shelter. Sleeping by the side of the road had worked so far, but that wasn’t going to be enough to protect Lex was he was in the middle of heat.

Griff wasn’t sure what he’d find or where, but he had promised Lex he’d protect him. Nothing would make him go back on that. He’d figure something out. Unfortunately, he was certain Lex wouldn’t accept any help getting through it, which was going to be torture for Griff, but he’d do what was needed.

As much decision making done as he could, Griff settled himself on the ground. The nighttime temperatures were sliding down. This trip was going to get less comfortable each day.

*** (October 4)

When Lex awoke the next morning, memory crashed down on him. He’d been surprised that he hadn’t had nightmares, all things considered, but he’d slept straight through, as far as he could remember.

Griff was nearby, Lex’s nose informed him. His Alpha scent was now mixed with dirt, sweat and blood? Probably the other Alpha’s. It didn’t smell like Griff. The fact that he knew that was frightening. His meds were out of his system now, and that meant a heat might come on at any time. Griff had promised to find safety, but, after what had happened last night, would the Alpha still honor the promise?

Probably not.

He sat up, not sure what else to do. He was helpless out here. As much as he hated Griff and what he’d done, for the moment, he appeared to be stuck with him. But he still didn’t know why the man had helped him and continued to do so.

“Lex?” Griff’s tone was hesitant, as if he was expecting rejection.

Lex sighed and said, “Yeah?”

“I promised to see you safely to Jericho. I will still do that. It’s maybe two weeks or a little longer. Will you stay with me that long?”

Lex noticed that Griff had used complete sentences. Short but complete with none of the elimination of words he’d used to ease his speech. What did that mean? Was he trying to communicate his sincerity?

“I need to know one thing first,” Lex said.

“Whatever you need.”

Another full sentence. Instead of one word, “Whatever.” He was still making the effort. Lex could hear the strain in the Alpha’s voice. He thought maybe he should have sympathy. But he couldn’t summon it.

“Why did you kill Stiles but not me?”

He heard a sigh from Griff. Was that relief? Resignation? Something else?

“I won’t kill or hurt Omegas.”

There was a weight to the short sentence, and Lex thought there was more to it than that. Why kill Alphas and presumably Betas but not Omegas?

“Why?” He knew it would hurt Griff to answer, but he needed to know. And, although he didn’t examine it too closely, he wanted Griff to hurt as much or more as he hurt right now.

“They tried to get me to kill Omegas. But I won’t. They hurt me to try to get me to. They took away my voice as punishment. But I won’t.”

The strain is his voice was painful for even Lex to hear now. They took away his voice? Someone had intentionally done that to him? But, as difficult as the answer was to hear, it still didn’t answer the question.

“Okay, so you stood firm. And it sounds like they tried pretty hard to persuade you otherwise. But why?”

“Won’t hurt Omegas. Protect them. Never hurt them.”

His sentences were getting short and choppy again. Lex sighed. It wasn’t really an answer, but he guessed it was the best he was going to get. Maybe Griff didn’t even know himself? Maybe he just had this deep-seated Alpha instinct that wouldn’t let him hurt Omegas? What did he know? He’d spent most of his life running away from that knowledge.

Did he believe Griff? Now that was the odd thing. Yes, he did. He didn’t understand it, but he did believe it. So stay with him to Jericho? Or...do what? When he thought about like that, he didn’t really have a choice. Stay with Griff and try to make it to a town he’d never heard of? Or wander blindly until he died, probably slowly and painfully?

“Yes, I’ll go with you. But just to Jericho. We’re done after that.”

“Yes.”

Had he agreed too easily? Was there a catch? “How long until we get there?”

“Two weeks at current pace.”

“And if we go faster?” As soon as he asked the question, he realized how stupid it was. “We get there faster, depending on how much we increase the pace by.”

“Yes.”

The one word answers were getting annoying, but what else did he expect? “All right. I’ll try to walk faster and farther today. Hand me my bar. I can eat while we walk.”

A moment later, a package nudged his hand, and he took it. He unwrapped it and held out his other hand for the strap. Griff gave it to him. “Let’s go.” He paused, realizing he needed to set one clear boundary. “You can touch me to guide me or if you need to keep me from walking into something. Otherwise, no. Okay?”

“Understood.”

Yeah, he was going to get tired of those. “And no pheromones. It’s pretty obvious to me that you have control over those.”

The familiar scent that had come to mean _Griff_ faded. That was what he wanted, right? Then why did he miss it?

He’d think about that later. “Let’s go then.”


	6. October 5 through 11

**October 5 to 7**

They made good time that day, almost fifteen miles. Griff knew if they could keep that up, they’d make it to Jericho in a week and a half.

Lex didn’t speak to him, but Griff hadn’t expected anything else.

Lex tried to go even further the next day, pushing them until well after dark. When they had gone about twenty miles, and Griff could see Lex limping, he stopped and refused to move. Lex had actually pummeled his chest, but the Alpha stood unmoving under the assault until Lex gave up and collapsed to the ground, where he pulled off his boots and rubbed his feet.

Griff wished he were able to help.

He refused to go more than fifteen miles the next day. He knew things were going to get complicated in about a day, and he didn’t want Lex to be over tired. He’d tried to stop at ten, but Lex had stubbornly tried to drag Griff, and he’d conceded for a few more miles.

That night at dinner, Lex spoke for the first time since they’d made their deal to go together to Jericho.

“It’s coming, isn’t it?” Lex had said over his lasagna. Griff had figured out the flavors Lex liked and did his best to give him those while he ate the ones Lex didn’t like. Stroganoff was his favorite, but they only had two of them left. Griff was saving them.

He knew what the Omega was asking, and all he said was, “Yes.”

“Tomorrow or the next day?”

He wanted to give a vague answer, but he’d promised himself not to lie to Lex. “Tomorrow. Can smell it strongly now.”

It was true. The scent of an oncoming heat had been faint three days ago, but now it was strong enough to be distracting. Griff was more than half hard and had been all day. As soon as Lex was asleep, Griff would have to move some distance away and jerk off. It wouldn’t really help, but it would ease the distraction a bit. He wasn’t sure how he was going to get through the three days of Lex’s heat.

“And you haven’t found someplace...safe?”

Griff forced his attention back to the conversation. “No, but I will.” He had no idea how he was going to make good on that promise, but he wasn’t going to let Lex down.

“The no touching rule still applies.”

Griff had expected that. Three days of silence made Lex’s wishes pretty clear. “Understood. I will guard you but nothing more.”

He wasn’t certain, but he thought he heard a very muffled “Thank you.”

Lex lay down to sleep. It was getting colder, and Griff knew tonight was going to dip into the 40s. He shrugged off his jacket and hesitantly lay it over Lex. The Omega gripped it and cuddled into it.

Griff was satisfied. It was the best he could do. As soon as Lex’s breathing eased into sleep, Griff went off to do what needed to be done. He would get through the next few days somehow.

**October 8**

Halfway through the day, Griff knew the situation was going to get dire soon. The scent was pouring off of Lex, and Griff was finding it more difficult every mile to just keep moving and not touch him. He knew what it was like for an Omega to go through a heat alone, and every instinct within him screamed to _Do Something!_

But he had promised.

“Griff?” Lex said from behind him, voice coming in a harsh pant. “I don’t know how much farther I can go.”

Just then, Griff saw something on the horizon. He squinted to bring it into focus. Yes. It was a house.

“House. Maybe half a mile?”

Lex sighed. “I can make it. I think.”

“You can.” He restrained himself from releasing soothing pheromones from his glands. He had promised.

He quickened his steps, and Lex was now skilled enough to keep up with him. For all that the Omega didn’t trust him in other areas, after so many days of walking, he did trust him to guide him safely. Lex hadn’t tripped in more than thirty miles.

As they got closer, Griff could see a small two story farmhouse. There were outbuildings, but they looked as if they hadn’t been used in years. He guided Lex to what had once been a small shed, perhaps for a tractor? “Stay here. Need to check out house. Make sure it’s safe.”

‘Yeah. Okay. Hurry?”

“Will.”

Griff jogged to the house, glad to be away from Lex’s roiling scent for a few minutes. As soon as he entered the house, Omega in heat was replaced by the sickeningly sweet odor of death. He moved through the downstairs. Kitchen, living room, small dining room, bathroom. No people.

Upstairs, he found them in the master bedroom. An older couple lay on the bed, on their backs, hands clasped. The empty pill bottle and half-full glass of water told the story. Griff could tell they hadn’t been dead for long, maybe two days.

Quickly but as reverently as he could, he wrapped them up in the bedclothes and carried them downstairs. He’d bury them while Lex struggled with his heat. Some honest work to get him out of the house would be welcomed.

Fortunately, there was another bedroom upstairs, and it was clean. Probably a guest room. He’d put Lex there.

He hurried back to Lex, who was writhing and groaning on the ground. Griff considered and decided the situation justified bending the “no touching” rule. He wasn’t sure Lex was going to be able to walk to the house.

He leaned down and lifted Lex bridal style in his arms. The Omega moaned and shifted in his arms. Griff could see that he was fully hard and was trying to move to thrust against something. He wanted to let him, but that definitely violated the rule. Lex was in no condition to give consent, and, as difficult as it would be, Griff was going to ignore anything he said or did. He was pretty sure Lex would be begging by morning, but he’d keep his word.

No matter how difficult it was going to be.

Griff got Lex up the stairs and laid him down in the guest room. “Going to be downstairs. Won’t touch you again.”

Lex lay on the bed, panting and curled into a tight ball. “Thank you. I think.”

Griff went downstairs. It was going to be a very long few days.

**October 9-11**

Years later, Lex would try to convince himself that he didn’t remember much of those three days.

He never really succeeded.

Pain, heat, arousal. The words weren’t enough to describe three days of an unaided heat. He tried everything, but nothing brought him relief. Only more pain or unsatisfied longing.

All his instincts told him that he had an _Alpha right downstairs!_ All he had to do was ask. He could smell Griff, even though the tiny rational part of him that remained knew the Alpha wasn’t giving off any intentional scent. Lex’s nose was just hypersensitive, and Griff’s scent was _so damn good_.

He held out for one day. Then he half stumbled and half fell down the stairs. He was pretty sure begging had been involved. Griff said no and helped him back upstairs. Lex hadn’t made it easy for him. He remembered trying to rub against the Alpha who just moved him away and kept him moving up the stairs.

Lex lost count of how many more times he went downstairs, but each time Griff had patiently taken him back to his bedroom. By the third day the room reeked of sweat, semen and despair. He wanted to die but he was afraid he wouldn’t.

And he didn’t. By the end of the third day, his heat had passed enough that he was able to fall into an exhausted sleep. When he woke up, he felt clear-headed, exhausted and hungry. He hadn’t eaten the entire time.

The sun was warm on his cheek, and a slight breeze moved the curtain back and forth rhythmically. He vaguely remembered Griff coming in at one point and opening the window. It hadn’t helped but it had made the room smell a bit better.

He looked around, noticing the decor for the first time. Everything was in what his mom had called “country, crafty blue.” That blue you only found at craft fairs.

And then his thoughts stuttered to a halt. He was seeing colors. Which meant _he could see_. His sight was back. How had that happened? When had it happened? He tried to remember but that just took him back to memories of pain. He guessed it didn’t matter. He could see, and his heat was over. Now he could get away from Griff and make a new life for himself. What that would be he didn’t know. Was there any use for hackers in a post bombs world? Probably not. But he had other skills.

And most importantly. HE COULD SEE AGAIN.

He got out of bed, and his legs nearly collapsed under him. The room swam, and he sat back down. He managed to stand on his second try. Moving slowly and using the wall for support, he walked down the hallway and carefully walked down the stairs, holding tightly to the rail.

He found Griff in the living room, crashed on the couch. When Lex saw him, he just stared. The Alpha looked awful. His face was drawn and somehow sunken. Lex was pretty sure he’d lost weight. Had he not eaten either in the last few days? He’d noticed that Griff needed extra calories, and he’d worried about having enough food to make it to Jericho. So if he hadn’t eaten the entire time Lex had been in heat? How had he managed that? And what might it have done to him?

He flopped down on the floor, suddenly full of shame. He’d been so focused on his own needs that he’d never considered how hard it must be on an Alpha to watch an Omega go through a heat and not be allowed to help. Griff had said he wouldn’t, and he’d stuck to it. Even when Lex had begged and no one would have blamed him. It would have been considered a mercy. But Griff had obviously viewed it as a consent issue, and he’d not gone back on his promise. How many Alphas would have done that? Had he misjudged Griff?

He tried to summon up his formerly righteous anger at what Griff had done to Stiles. But now that his thoughts were clear, he remembered that Griff had no agency. He’d been forced to take a bad deal or stay institutionalized for life. Was it Griff he should be mad at? Or the person who’d given him the assignment?

Watching Griff sleep, his features pinched in obvious discomfort, Lex was pretty sure he knew the answer. And he didn’t like what it said about him.

Lex forgot about his hunger. An Alpha was here. An Alpha who had protected him and respected him enough to go through what must have been almost as hellish as it had been for him. No, he was more than just an Alpha. He was Griff. Suddenly Lex realized that Griff meant something to him. He wasn’t just a traveling companion or a protector. He was Griff. What that meant, Lex wasn’t quite sure. But he wanted to find out.

And he hoped he hadn’t screwed it up completely.

Lex got up, walked to the couch and managed to nestle himself under Griff’s arm, back pressed tightly against the Alpha’s chest. He felt safe and warm wrapped in the arm and scent of Griff. He drifted off to sleep, hoping he’d get a second chance.


	7. October 11 through 13

Griff awoke to warmth against his chest and the scent of a contented, sleepy Omega. Certain he was dreaming, he kept his eyes closed. The Omega smelled like Lex but that couldn’t be true. Lex hated him. He did some mental math. It had been more than three days. Maybe the heat was over? He lay there for a long moment, enjoying the dream and not wanting it to be over too soon. However, pleasant dreams weren’t for him, and he finally opened his eyes. To his shock, he hadn’t been dreaming. He was holding Lex in his arms. There was no mistaking the rumpled, filthy hair and warm scent. Not that he was much cleaner.

How had this happened? Had he done something he shouldn’t have? Had he gone upstairs and brought Lex down here? Oh shit! Had he violated his promise? He didn’t feel like he’d knotted Lex. Surely he’d be...more relaxed...sated...something? But there was no other explanation for why Lex was lying so warm in his arms.

“Relax,” Lex said with a soft chuckle. “It wasn’t you. I’m the one who crawled under your arm.”

“Why?” As soon as the word fell out of his mouth, Griff wished he could take it back, but he was confused and wanted to know.

Lex’s chuckle turned into a sigh. “I owe you an apology, Griff.”

“No.”

Lex shifted to turn and face him. Griff hadn’t been this close to the Omega before and marveled at how beautiful his golden eyes were. They were so like and unlike his own.

“Shit!” Lex said as soon as they were facing each other. “You look just like me. How did I not notice that when I came downstairs?”

Griff blinked in confusion and realized Lex’s eyes were tracking. “You can see? When? How?”

Now Lex laughed. “Right. Because that’s your first reaction.” He frowned. “But then you knew I looked like you. You’ve been seeing me all along.”

“Yes. But how?”

Lex shrugged. “No clue. Woke up and could see. Took me a minute to catch up with what had happened.”

Griff found himself smiling. “Happy for you.” And he was. Lex would have a life now. That was good. He wouldn’t need an Alpha assassin looking after him anymore. He’d be able to leave him behind in Jericho with a clear conscience.

“Yeah, thanks. But I still do owe you that apology.”

Griff forced himself to look away from Lex’s arresting eyes. “No.”

“Yes, I do. Stop refusing to listen long enough for me to explain?”

Griff frowned, but he couldn’t really deny Lex anything, could he? “Okay.”

Lex took a deep breath before starting. “So yeah, I was angry about Stiles, but when my head cleared, I realized I hadn’t been fair to you. You were forced into that life. You didn’t choose to become an...assassin or whatever. They didn’t give you any choice. I mean, they took your voice. What kind of people do that?”

The kind of people who decide to explode nuclear bombs all over the United States to remake it. But of course he didn’t say that. Lex would probably hate him all over again if he knew who Griff had worked for. However unwillingly.

“So instead of blaming you, I realized that the people to blame were the people who did this to you. I mean, you didn’t want to kill Stiles, right?”

Griff shook his head emphatically, glad that Lex could see the motion now. His voice was so rough he usually feared he wasn’t getting across the right emotion with the few words he had.

“So there. And I’m not sure I really get why you didn’t kill me, but you didn’t. And you’ve been nothing but good to me. You saved me from that other Alpha. And...in my heat. I mean. You didn’t do anything. Even though I begged you. And then I came down here, and you look like you’ve lost a lot of weight. Unless you always looked that thin and sunken, but I’m thinking you didn’t. So it must have been hard on you too, and there I was being angry at you when you’ve done pretty much everything for me. And that was shitty, and I’m sorry.”

Griff felt tears in the corners of his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had apologized to him. He was sure he didn’t deserve it, but he liked it. He probably shouldn’t, but it felt good.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Lex said, and he drew Griff closer, positioning his nose near his neck, where his own scent glands were.

Griff held his breath, not sure it was allowed.

Lex patted him on the back and said, “Go ahead. I mean, if you want to.”

Griff did want to. He allowed himself to inhale deeply. Omega scent mixed with sweat, blood, dirt and other odors. It was all wonderful and exactly what he had been wanting for so long. His cock gave a happy twitch, and he told it to settle down. That wasn’t what this was about. This was about comfort, not sex.

Griff lost track of how long he stayed there, breathing in Lex’s scent.

“Griff?” Lex finally said, his tone shy.

“Yes?” he answered, too deep in his happy haze to worry that he probably sounded drugged up. To be fair, he basically was.

“Uh. I know I said no scent. But...well...what if I went back on that and said I wanted to smell...Alpha?”

Griff smiled and released happy Alpha scent. He’d been wanting to do that for days, and it was almost as good to be able to as it was to have permission to scent Lex.

Lex sighed and shifted to get closer.

They stayed there until Lex’s stomach started to rumble.

“Shit,” he said. “Uh. Sorry about that. Guess I’m hungry.”

Griff laughed, which he realized wasn’t something he had done much, if at all, in years. “Make food.”

Lex sat up. “We’re probably running really low, aren’t we? We’ll need to find more.”

Griff sat up and started to speak but stopped. Instead he tapped Lex’s chest to get his attention and signed, _You said you can sign a little, right?_

Lex’s expression brightened. “Oh, yeah. I can. I’m not very good at actually signing, but if you don’t go too fast, I can understand them.”

_That works,_ Griff signed back. _I can hear. I just can’t talk._

Lex smiled at him. “Yeah, you sign, and I’ll talk. That’s good.”

_We don’t need to worry about food for a few days. He motioned in the direction of the kitchen. Stocked pantry. And the house has a generator and a well._

He’d needed to finger spell a few of those words, like generator and pantry, but Lex was nodding along.

“So you’re saying we can cook actual food? Then why are you so thin?”

_Couldn’t eat while your scent was so distracting. Tried. Came right back up._

Again, Lex felt guilty for everything he had put Griff through. A gentle finger ran down his cheek.

_None of that. We can cook now. And take hot showers. As long as they aren’t too long. The hot water heater isn’t very big._

Lex let out a groan that was almost pornographic, and Griff found himself smiling again. He had no idea how long this good mood from Lex would last, but he was prepared to enjoy it as long as it did.

A few hours later, they had gorged themselves on Dinty Moore’s Beef Stew, which apparently they both liked, and it was quick to heat up. Griff had noted a few things he could cook later. He’d decided they both needed some time to rest and recuperate from the last couple of days. And, if he was being honest with himself, he wanted some time to enjoy not moving and being with a Lex who wasn’t angry with him.

Lex was behind the resting plan, and as soon as they had eaten and showered and dressed in over-large clothes from the former owner, he yawned and said, “I feel like some more sleep. Going to head to bed for a bit.”

Griff nodded and signed back, _Good idea. I’ll just sleep down here. You can have the bed._

It was so nice to be able to communicate easily and without pain.

Lex was shaking his head as Griff signed. “You don’t have to sleep on the couch if you don’t want to.” He lowered his gaze to the floor. “I mean, there’s plenty of room on the bed for both of us.”

Griff’s eyes widened. “You sure?” That seemed important enough to speak out loud.

Lex didn’t lift his gaze from the floor. “Yeah. I mean, if you wanted to.”

Griff walked up and carefully, ready to pull back if it wasn’t welcomed, put an arm around Lex’s waist. “I want to.”

Lex looked up from the floor, smiled shyly and, “Good.” Then his gaze turned mischievous. “As long as you don’t hog all the covers.”

Griff laughed again. “Won’t. Promise.”

And they went upstairs and curled up together in the guest bedroom. Griff was pretty sure this was what Heaven was like.

**October 12**

Lex awoke and lay for a moment, briefly afraid he’d open his eyes and be blind again. Then he realized he could see sunlight through his eyelids, and he smiled. Having his sight back was still novel enough to delight him.

He opened his eyes and saw Griff had rolled to face him while he slept. Lex took the moment to really look at him. It was uncanny how much they looked alike. Griff was older and didn’t have sideburns. His hair was shorter, although they were both growing shaggy and messy. Lex thought it was a good look on Griff.

The Alpha was peaceful in sleep. The worry furrows on his brow were smoothed out. Lex hesitated, wanting something but not sure it was okay. Finally, he decided to just go for it. He scooted closer and nuzzled Griff’s neck, breathing in the reassuring scent of Alpha. He was starting to realize maybe he’d had some wrong ideas about this whole Alpha/Omega thing. When he was with Griff, he didn’t feel like a second class citizen. He felt both protected and appreciated for himself. Griff really had seemed impressed by how he’d dismantled the tracker.

Griff stirred against him and yawned. Lex started to pull back, concerned he’d violated some sort of etiquette, but fingers wove into his hair and held him in place.

“Nice,” Griff said, sounding sleepy.

Lex relaxed against him, and they cuddled for a few minutes. When he finally pulled back to look at Griff, the Alpha opened his eyes. Early morning sunlight glinted in their golden depths, and Lex couldn’t help himself. He leaned in to kiss Griff.

It was a pretty awful kiss, he knew. He’d barely ever kissed anyone, but moments after their lips touched, Griff rolled them over so he was on top, and he deepened the kiss.

Oh. The Alpha could kiss. Lex’s body was still exhausted from his heat, but it still felt so good, and he couldn’t believe he’d denied himself this. Griff’s lips were soft and warm on his, and his tongue gently teased his lips open, and that was even better. Griff pressed himself against Lex’s leg, already half-hard, and he heard a gentle growl deep in the Alpha’s throat. Lex felt his body try to respond, but not yet. He thought maybe in a day or two.

Griff nipped his lip gently and pulled back. “Not ready yet.”

Lex shook his head. He wanted another kiss, but was it okay to ask? If he wasn’t up for sex, was it fair to keep making out?

Griff made it easy on him by dipping in for another, and they kissed for several minutes, the other man gently moving against Lex’s thigh. He wasn’t entirely sure what to offer, but he thought he should do _something_, right? “Griff. Do you want me to...I don’t know--” He trailed off, at a loss.

Griff shook his head. “Is fine. This is good. Wait until you are ready.”

He kissed Lex again before pulling back with obvious reluctance. “Hungry.”

Lex smiled at him. Griff did still look too thin. One solid meal wasn’t even close to enough to undo three days of not eating. “Come on. Let’s make breakfast.”

Everything in the fridge had spoiled, but apparently the former owners had believed in stocking up on non-perishables. Lex and Griff went through the pantry, putting aside food that would be light, easy to carry and last a long time. Lex had found several pouches of freeze-dried food, and he set those aside. Griff was piling up all the tuna fish he could find.

“Why tuna?” Lex asked. It wasn’t one of his favorites, although he could eat it if he had to.

_Lots of protein. I need it. My metabolism runs high._

“Is that an Alpha thing or a you thing?” Lex asked.

Griff shrugged. _Both?_

Lex guessed it didn’t matter. If they needed to carry extra protein to keep Griff healthy, they’d do it. He hoped this Jericho place had decent food stores.

Lex made pancakes from a huge box of Bisquick they’d found. He ended up having to make a second batch when Griff had finished his share of the first batch and still looked hungry. Lex was starting to wonder how much weight Griff had lost during the trip here and hoped they could carry enough food to keep him healthy on the rest of the trip. At least they’d be able to travel faster now that he could see.

They ransacked the drawers and closets for clothing. Luckily, the husband--or so they’d presumed him to be--had been close to their height. He’d been heavier, so all his clothing fit loosely, although Griff discovered some clothing in the attic that was smaller. Maybe what he’d worn when he’d been younger?

Griff had been amused that Lex was handy with a needle and thread and teased him about his “Omega domestic skills.” Lex flushed at the teasing, but he knew Griff hadn’t meant anything by it. As a single guy who hated to shop, he’d learned early to fix his clothes to avoid replacing things. It was good for their purposes because he’d been able to take in the shirts and make them fit better. Jeans were too hard to adjust, and they’d taken what they could from the older clothes and made them work.

Lex had found a couple of heavy jackets in the downstairs closet, and, being a bit large, they were perfect for layering. Griff had agreed the extra weight was worth carrying. October was here, and it was going to get chilly, especially at night.

“Too bad they weren’t campers,” Lex remarked after they had been over the entire house, looking for things to scrounge.

“Will manage,” Griff said as he turned canned chicken, rice and canned vegetables into a surprisingly tasty meal. He’d even made biscuits that were as light and fluffy as any Lex had ever tasted. He got back at Griff for his teasing with a comment about “when did Alphas learn such domestic skills?” Griff had shut him up with a kiss, and that had been that.

As the day had gone on, Lex had discovered that Griff was quite tactile. The Alpha made a point of touching him frequently. Nothing big. Just a light caress when moving past Lex. Tapping his shoulder to get his attention before signing at him. The occasional hug. And, of course, kisses at almost every opportunity. Lex found himself particularly looking forward to those, and he thought he was getting better at kissing back. He was pretty sure that’s what the low growls Griff made when they kissed meant.

They crashed early, both worn out from scrounging and packing. Lex regretted that they were going to have to leave soon. He was enjoying this quiet time. But the food here would run out eventually, and it was better to get to a population center and try to learn exactly what had happened. And if there was anything they could do about it.

**October 13**

Griff didn’t want to leave their safe haven. There was, at least for the moment, enough food, which he had been in desperate need of. Lex was in a good mood, and his scent basically permeated the entire house. While Griff certainly had his share of experiences with Omegas, they had been more casual encounters. This was starting to feel anything but casual. The longer he spent with Lex, the more convinced he was that he was falling in love with him.

Which was going to be a problem when he had to leave him behind in Jericho. However, with uncharacteristic disregard for the future, he put that thought behind him until later. For now, he just enjoyed their time together. He’d figured out quickly that Lex’s practical experience with relationships was basically nil. So he’d taken advantage of the situation to teach him what he liked and how he liked it. Fortunately, Lex was a quick learner and seemed willing to indulge in just about as many displays of affection as Griff wanted.

However, by the end of the second full day after Lex’s heat had ended, Griff was out of reasons to delay. They had warm clothing, enough food for the trip and a few items that might come in handy later. Reluctantly, they had agreed to leave in the morning.

They were lying in bed, idly kissing. Griff, as had become their habit, was half on top of Lex, running his hands everywhere he could reach. He wasn’t expecting it to arouse, assuming Lex still needed more time to recover. However, to his delighted surprise, Lex gasped and moved against him.

“Griff?”

“You want?”

“I want.”

Griff had been amused that, the longer they were together, the shorter Lex’s sentences were getting.

“But...” Lex hesitated before adding, “Uh…I don’t think it would be a good idea to chance getting me pregnant.”

Griff didn’t want to go into why he was sterile, but he did want to let Lex know it was all right. “Can’t get you pregnant right now. Don’t worry.” He knew he’d have to talk about it eventually, but he just couldn’t right now.

“Okay,” was all Lex said. Griff knew he should probably be worried about how easily he was trusting him, but maybe he did deserve it after his restraint during the heat. He hoped that was it.

“So…uh…how does this work, exactly?” Lex asked.

“Never watched on TV?”

Lex flushed. “Well, yeah. But it’s TV. How real can it be?”

Griff kissed him, pressing their bodies together. Lex was hardening under him, and Griff had already been erect. “Real enough.” He pulled back enough to sign, _Ever used toys?_

Lex’s blush deepened. “Yes. But…I didn’t like the knot one. It hurt too much.”

Griff nodded. _You probably either got the wrong size or didn’t prep properly._

Male Omegas had a second opening, which made sex easier with them than with, say, male Betas. Omega bodies were designed both for pregnancy and childbirth, but that didn’t mean everything went smoothly the first time. Griff had been with a virgin Omega once before and knew what to do.

“Trust me?”

Lex’s response was immediate. “Yes.”

Griff kissed him, harder this time, making sure to use enough heat to arouse. He hadn’t wanted to tease earlier, but now he could use everything he knew. Lex was soon thrusting against him, making little moans of need and pleasure. Griff took Lex’s cock in hand and used firm, confident strokes to bring him close before backing off.

“Griff!”

The Alpha smiled, enjoying himself. He nuzzled Lex’s neck, right where his scent glands lay. Lex gasped and pressed harder against him. The scent of arousal filled the room. Griff had the urge to bite down, but he definitely didn’t have permission for that. For now, this was good.

His thoughts briefly stuttered to a halt. _For now?_ He knew he couldn’t afford to think that. Once they got to Jericho, he knew he’d still have to leave Lex behind.

However, that wasn’t today. Now he was making Lex’s first time as good as possible. Griff shifted position and enclosed Lex in his warm mouth, running his tongue along the Omega’s shaft. Lex’s hips jerked upward, but Griff moved easily with him. He hollowed his cheeks and sucked hard. Lex let out a yelp of pleasure which turned into a long moan when Griff slid two fingers inside him. The Omega was so slick that they went in easily. Griff found the right spot inside him and stroked. Lex’s moans deepened. This time when he said “Griff!” it was all pleasure.

Griff continued to caress him with mouth and fingers until Lex came, shooting deep into Griff’s mouth. The Omega collapsed in a contented heap, making little pleased sounds. “I didn’t know it could be like that.” His eyes opened. “But what about you?”

Griff pressed against him, enjoying the friction. “In a moment.”

He kissed Lex until the Omega relaxed against him. The smell of slick and aroused Omega hung heavy in the air, and it was as intoxicating to Griff as the kisses. He nudged Lex’s head into position. “Lick and suck on my neck?”

Lex obliged, and Griff closed his eyes against the waves of pleasure that washed over him. Traditionally, Omegas didn’t bite their Alphas, but right then Griff didn’t care what was usually done. He wanted Lex to bite him as much as he’d wanted to bite Lex earlier.

He was as hard as he could remember being, but he still made sure Lex was ready before he slid inside the Omega. It was good: warm and slick and just tight enough. Griff was large, but Lex took him in easily. The Omega hardened again, and Griff smiled. That had been his hope.

Griff thrust in and out, setting an easy rhythm. He could keep on like this for a while, and he waited until Lex started making needy noises again. The Omega’s cock was dripping against Griff’s stomach, and he increased his pace.

He judged Lex’s readiness by smell, and he managed to time it almost perfectly. Lex started coming just seconds before Griff came, his knot growing inside the Omega. This could hurt if he wasn’t careful, but Lex just shuddered against him, saying Griff’s name over and over.

Griff locked into place, warm pulses going through him every couple of minutes. Each time he pulsed, Lex gave a little moan. Griff closed his eyes and just enjoyed the sensations and scent of contented Omega. Pleasure surged through him as he had one mini-climax after another. He’d been celibate too long, and Lex seemed to be made just for him.

Finally, his knot went down, and he pulled out. Lex made a little disappointed groan. “Enjoy it?”

“Very much.” The words were little more than breathed.

Griff smiled. Introducing Lex to making love had been a pleasure. Knotting could be uncomfortable the first time, and Griff had wanted Lex to have nothing but enjoyment from the experience.

Afterwards, as Lex cuddled close, Griff was pretty sure he’d accomplished it.

***

Lex had no idea being with an Alpha could be like _that_. If he hadn’t been so pleased with Griff, he’d have regretted all the years he’d suppressed that part of him. However, Griff had been so good and so patient, and Lex was glad he’d waited. They lay together, limbs entangled. He knew they would have to leave in the morning, and he resisted going to sleep, wanting this moment to last as long as possible. However, he soon drifted, half in and half out.

Griff shifted to hold him closer, burrowing his nose into Lex’s neck. Lex smiled, remembering learning how sensitive necks could be. Griff hadn’t given him a mating bite, of course, but he suspected that would be amazing when he finally found an Alpha to mate with. Which was a surprising thought, considering how long he’d fought against it.

He settled himself more deeply in Griff’s arms and allowed himself to drift. Just before he went to sleep, he thought he heard Griff’s rough voice say, in the softest tone he’d heard from the Alpha, “I love you, Lex.”

That woke him up enough to notice Griff’s scent completely change. Where it had been wild and almost spicy--and completely arousing--while they’d been making love, now it was warm, soft and gentle. Could it be true? Did Griff really love him? Was that what the change in his scent meant?

Lex finally drifted off, deciding he’d enjoy it for now and deal with it, or not, in the morning.


	8. October 14 to 21

The second half of their trip went much more smoothly than the first. With Lex able to see, they were able to move off the road and over land. Griff assured Lex that he had an excellent sense of direction and could make fairly directly for Jericho. He wanted to avoid any other towns, concerned that any or all of them would be similar to Strasburg. He hoped Jericho had stayed reasonably civilized because he wasn't sure what he would do with Lex if they hadn't.

He hated the thought of leaving him behind, being fairly certain he had fallen for the Omega. He'd never considered that he would ever find someone to love. Before his training, he'd been too focused on his work. Afterwards, the only people he spent time with were his handlers, and none of them ever got close to him.

It was ironic that he was now relatively free and had found someone but was going to have to leave him. The best approach was to keep things casual, but he didn't know if he'd be able to do that. He'd denied himself for so long that he mostly wanted to grab on to what he had for as long as he had it.

When they had awakened the morning after making love for the first time, Lex had been shy and somewhat uncertain, but Griff hadn't thought much of it. It was a logical reaction. Several times, it seemed as if Lex was going to ask something, but he never did. It wasn't in Griff's nature to push, and he decided if it was important enough, the Omega would eventually ask.

Of course, they took advantage of having a comfortable bed one more time, and Griff showed Lex a few more things he hadn't had time for the night before.

However, all too soon, it was time to move on. They made one more big breakfast and then headed out.

Lex wasn't quite up to the twenty miles Griff had hoped for, but he estimated they went a solid fifteen. They made good time the next few days as well. While walking during the day kept them plenty warm, the nights were cold, and they never found another house or other shelter. Fortunately, now they shared body heat under all their jackets and made do well enough. Lex tried to make up for lost time, even on the cold, hard ground, and Griff thought he had laughed and smiled more in those days of travel than he had in years.

***

The travel had gone so smoothly. Lex should have guessed it wouldn't last. Naturally, they were almost to Jericho when things went to hell.

The only warning he had was Griff stopping, head up, testing the air. Lex took a tentative sniff and then inhaled more deeply, finally smelling what he thought Griff had scented before him. It was a rancid smell, almost Alpha but harsher, different. It made Lex want to run, but he knew he was safer with Griff, so he looked at the Alpha and asked, “What is it?”

Griff growled deep in his chest, a sound Lex hadn't heard before. “Feral Alphas. Run, Lex.” He pointed behind him. “Jericho is a couple of miles that way. I'll hold them off.”

A chill went through Lex. _Feral Alpha_ meant only one thing. Alphas that were HSS-282 positive. Easily the most dangerous thing they could have encountered.

Griff had unlimbered his rifle and was checking the magazine. Lex wondered how good a shot he was. Motion near the horizon caught his eye, and he saw the Alphas. Five or six of them.

“Lex. Run!” Griff's voice was commanding, and the scent that was coming off of him was compelling, making Lex want to obey. But he stood his ground.

“No. I'm staying with you.”

“Can't fight these,” Griff insisted as he stood up and sighted down the rifle. Lex watched him take a deep breath, let it out slowly, and pull the trigger.

One Alpha went down.

“Run, damn it!”

Lex backed up and crouched down in a nearby hollow. He wasn't going to leave Griff behind, but he didn't see any reason to be in the middle of the fighting either. He quickly ran through some of what Stiles had taught him about hand-to-hand fighting.

_You're quick and accurate, Lex. Use that to your advantage. An Alpha is going to underestimate you. Use that too._

“Thanks, Stiles,” Lex said under his breath. “Pretty sure you didn't intend me to try it against ferals, but I'll do what I can.”

Griff fired four more times. Three Alphas went down. One staggered but kept on coming. He looked wounded severely enough that Lex thought either of them could take him. One other sprinted ahead with a howl of rage, uninjured. Griff had run out of time to fire. He dropped the rifle, kicking it behind him. Lex winced, knowing Stiles would have protested that kind of treatment of a good gun.

Griff drew his knife. For a moment, Lex froze, knowing that it was the knife that had killed Stiles. He shook himself. Griff hadn't been able to help it. Save his anger for the Alpha's former masters.

Griff moved in on the uninjured Alpha, going in low with his knife. Griff was fast, and he managed to get in one good slice across the Alpha’s stomach. Too bad feral Alphas basically didn't feel pain. The only way to stop one was to kill him.

The injured Alpha joined in. Both of them held long sticks? Lex looked again. No. Pool cues? Odd but effective. They also gave the Alphas reach over Griff.

All three Alphas were focused on the fight, and none of them seemed to be aware that Lex was there. He dashed out of his hollow and grabbed the rifle. Two bullets left. Lex wasn't a great shot, but if he saw an opportunity, he'd take it.

Griff managed to keep his distance from the two ferals, using a wolf-like strategy of darting in, getting in a stab or slash and then darting back out again. Lex watched him take a chance on one of his attacks, and held his breath as Griff went low and managed to hamstring the injured Alpha.

Unfortunately, he had to stay within range of the other Alpha, who brought the pool cue down solidly on Griff's back and side. He staggered backward, just managing to get out of range. However, he dropped the knife. The Alpha abandoned the cue and dove for the knife, grabbing it before Griff could get it back.

Griff danced out of the way, but Lex could see he was moving more slowly. The Alpha slashed wildly with the knife, and Griff was able to dodge him, but he continued to slow, and Lex knew he was hurt, probably badly.

The Alpha got in a lucky slash on Griff's stomach, and he staggered back, holding his wound. Lex couldn't stand it any more. He stood up and steadied the rifle against his shoulder. Checking that the safety was off, he aimed.

“Griff! Down!”

Griff dropped without hesitation. Lex fired. And missed.

Shit!

The Alpha turned to Lex, obviously seeing him as the greater threat. Through the scope, Lex watched his nostrils flare. The Alpha smiled and started to walk forward, but slowly, his step full of menace. His rancid stench turned Lex's stomach. All his instincts screamed at him to run. But he stood his ground, took the time to aim and fired.

The Alpha dropped, clutching his chest just over his heart.

Lex slowly lowered the rifle, alert if the Alpha was faking. Not that he knew what to do since he was out of ammunition, and Griff had all the spare bullets.

But the Alpha stayed down. Stiles had been right. The Alpha had underestimated Lex.

***

Lex surveyed the battle ground, amazed at how many ferals Griff had killed. His marksmanship was excellent. Except for the one Griff had hamstrung, they were still. The last one was crawling along the ground heading in Lex's direction.

Lex didn't hesitate. He walked to Griff's side, reached in his coat pocket where he kept spare bullets, loaded the rifle and shot the injured Alpha in the head. Blood and brains sprayed everywhere, and he was reminded that movies were not real life. But the Alpha was dead, and he couldn't find even a scrap of pity for him.

As soon as he was certain they were safe, he dropped down beside Griff, who was moaning and obviously trying not to move. The slash across his stomach bled freely, and Lex knew that was the first thing he'd have to deal with. They didn't have any truly clean clothes, but Lex dug through his pack and pulled out a mostly clean t-shirt, which he wadded up and pressed against Griff's wound. “Can you hold that?”

Griff nodded and moved his hand to hold the shirt in place. As he moved, he gasped and closed his eyes.

Lex had been going to probe where the Alpha had hit him with the pool cue but decided he didn't need to. It was obvious the area hurt.

“Think my kidney is bruised,” Griff managed to get out.

Lex imagined that had to hurt a lot. Which answered his question of whether Griff was going to be able to walk. Probably not.

“Where's the road?” he asked.

Carefully, Griff pointed at an angle from their position. “Quarter to half mile that way.”

Right. Not far at all. And yet quite far.

Lex looked around. If Griff couldn't walk, he needed another option. Lex didn't think he was strong enough to carry him that far. Dragging him along the ground was going to hurt him even more. Could he make a stretcher? Or… He smiled. A travois.

“Hang tight for a minute and keep pressure on that wound. I have an idea.”

“Okay,” was all Griff said. Damn. He sounded like he was really hurting. Lex wished there was something he could do, but they didn't have much in the way of painkillers. Which reminded him. It wasn't much, but they had raided the farm house medicine cabinet and picked up a bottle of Motrin. He was pretty sure it was in his pack, and he dug through it again, pulling out the bottle with a flourish. “Here,” he said, shaking out four. He considered and added two more. Sure, the stuff was bad for your liver in high doses, but it would probably take a day or two, and right now, they needed to get it into his system.

Griff took them without a word and dry swallowed them. He gave a quick nod of thanks. Lex smiled and kissed him on the forehead. “Now let's see if we can get you to Jericho and some real medicine.”

Griff raised an eyebrow in question.

“In a minute. Let me see if it works, first.”

Griff just closed his eyes and pressed harder on his wound.

Lex gathered both pool cues and stripped the two closest Alphas of their jackets. He placed the jackets on the ground, lining up their sleeves. Then he ran the pool cues down both sets of sleeves and zipped up the jackets. He stood back to survey his makeshift travois. It wasn't great and probably wouldn't last long, but with a bit of luck, it might get them to Jericho.

As he carried the awkward contraption back to Griff, the Alpha opened his eyes and looked at what Lex had made. His brows pulled together briefly, but then his expression cleared, and he nodded. “How pull?”

“That's my next trick. Let me see if I can make this idea work.”

Griff nodded and closed his eyes again.

Lex surveyed his get up and the two backpacks. He went back to the two Alphas and stripped them of their shirts. Then he trotted to the other Alphas and took their shirts as well. He went back to Griff with an armful of plaid button downs. Really? Was this what the well-dressed Midwestern Alpha was wearing this year?

He tied the shirts together into one long “rope.” This would have been much easier with actual rope, but he had to work with what he had. Too bad the Alphas weren't carrying rope instead of their awful plaid shirts. Once he had a long rope of shirts, he threaded it through the shoulder straps of his backpack. Then he knelt down by Griff. “This will be easier if you're wearing your pack backwards.”

The Alpha nodded, opening his eyes only briefly. Pain clouded his amber eyes, and Lex tried to hurry. Moving carefully to jostle him as little as possible, he moved the pack to rest on Griff's chest. Then he ran the “rope” through Griff's straps, turning the backpack and rope setup into a makeshift harness.

He helped Griff onto the travois and positioned him so his feet didn't drag on the ground, wanting the pool cue ends to be what was touching the ground. Then he put on his backpack. “Grab the sides if you can. I don't want you to topple off when I start to move.”

“Give me another shirt?” Griff asked. “Long sleeves.”

Lex shrugged out of his backpack, got out a long sleeve t-shirt and handed it to Griff, who tied it around his waist, holding the makeshift bandage in place. Lex nodded. That was a good idea. Then Griff held onto the sides of the stretcher/travois. “Okay.”

Lex put his pack back on and stood up to take a few experimental steps. It wasn't easy. Griff was heavy, but the contraption held up. “Not sure how many times I'm going to have to stop to retie everything, but I'm hopeful I can get us to Jericho.”

“If you get to road, leave me and bring back help from town.”

“Not a chance, Griff. We don't know how many more ferals are out there. I'm not leaving you alone.”

“Can fight if have to.”

Lex strongly doubted that, but he didn't see any reason to say it. He bent forward in his makeshift harness and started walking.

***

Griff gritted his teeth against the rough pace Lex was maintaining. Using the pool cues to make a sort of stretcher had been clever, but the ground was uneven, and it felt like Lex was managing to hit every possible rock and bump. Griff knew it wasn't the Omega’s fault, but the constant jostling hurt. And was making his wound bleed again. He didn't want to say anything, though, just wanting the whole experience over as quickly as possible.

It took Lex nearly an hour to get to the road, which would have been an easy ten minute walk, if that, without needing to pull him. They had to stop twice to fix the harness, which tended to pull apart.

Finally, they reached the road, and Lex collapsed on the ground, lying panting beside Griff.

“Go without me,” Griff said, trying again to convince Lex to head for Jericho alone.

“Nope,” Lex said. “Not happening. I can move faster along the road.”

Griff was enjoying the cessation of movement. Every jolt on the ground had felt like it was stabbing his bruised kidney, and he was certain it was making the injury worse. But what could they do? Staying out here until he healed wasn't an option either.

After about ten minutes, Lex stood up. Griff had almost drifted off, but the motion woke him.

“Ready?” Lex asked.

“No,” Griff responded, in too much pain to lie.

Lex chuckled. “Yeah, neither am I. You're heavier than you look.” He leaned down and kissed Griff gently. That was nice, even through the pain, and he tried to smile when Lex stood up.

Sighing, Lex put his arms through the straps and started walking again.

He was right. It was easier on the road, but there was still enough jostling to keep him in near constant pain. Griff lost track of how long they walked, and he drifted in and out of a hazy, pain-filled doze, jerking awake every time he almost lost his grip on the stretcher sides.

Finally, he couldn't take the pain anymore, let go of the cues and passed out.

***

Lex felt Griff start to slide off the travois and stopped before he fell off all the way. He slid out of his shoulder straps and knelt down to check on him. Alive but unconscious. Also, bleeding again. “Damn you,” he said. “Why didn't you tell me?”

Because he didn't want to slow him down or be a bother. Yeah, Lex knew the answer. However, he wasn't sure how he was going to continue on. He'd never stay on the contraption without holding on. Lex estimated they'd gone no more than half a mile down the highway, which meant Jericho was at least a mile and a half away. It might as well have been across the country for all that Lex could get him that far.

Hearing a sound, he glanced up to see either the most welcome or terrifying sight he could imagine. A car, or rather an old SUV, was making its slow way in their direction, heading from Jericho. Lex hoped that meant it was a friendly, which, he realized, would make the first one they had seen on this journey.

He unslung the rifle and held it. He could easily get it into firing position but didn't yet raise it to his shoulder. He assumed anyone would understand caution, under the circumstances. The SUV slowed, several hundred feet away from them, and a man got out. Lex could see he was wearing a sheriff's deputy uniform. That was a good sign.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” the man called out. He stood by the car, hand on what Lex assumed was a holstered pistol.

“I'm armed, officer,” Lex said, knowing the deputy could see the rifle but assuming it wouldn't hurt. “My friend is hurt. We're trying to get to Jericho.”

“Why Jericho?” the man asked, not moving his hand from his pistol.

Lex realized that was an excellent question. He'd been so focused on getting here that he'd never asked Griff why they were going there instead of...well...almost anywhere else. He decided honesty couldn't hurt. “I'm actually not sure.” He motioned to Griff. “He's the one who said Jericho, and I've been following him.”

“What's wrong with him?”

“We were attacked by feral Alphas about a mile back. We killed them, but they got in a good hit or two.”

The man seemed to consider. “Put down your rifle, and I'll approach.”

That made good sense, and Lex wanted to trust him, but everyone else they'd met had tried to kill them. Was he sure this man wasn't another one? On the other hand, Griff was hurt, and they needed the help.

“All right,” he said, holding out both hands, including the one with the rifle, which he held by the barrel in a position almost impossible to fire from. “I'm putting it down.” With exaggerated care, he knelt down and placed the rifle on the ground. He stepped back a step or two. There. He'd either done the right thing or had guaranteed they were both going to die.

He continued standing, arms outstretched.

The deputy approached, hand on his weapon but not drawing it. As soon as he was within fifty or so feet, he stopped. Lex stared, sure he knew why the man had stopped.

“You look an awful lot like me,” the deputy said.

Lex motioned with his chin toward Griff. “As does he, as you'll see when you get closer.”

“Why?”

Lex shrugged. “No clue.”

“You two brothers or something?”

“No,” Lex answered. “I only met him a few weeks ago. He saved me after the bomb went off over Denver.”

The man's eyes darted back and forth between Lex and Griff.

“I'm Lex, by the way. And this is Griff Krenshaw.”

Recognition lit the deputy's eyes. “Griff Krenshaw? FBI?”

During their time in the farm house, Griff had given him more of his story, so Lex knew the answer to that. “Yes. Or rather, he used to be. Why? Do you know him?”

“Let me take a look at him,” the deputy said. Then he added, “Bill Koehler. Jericho deputy.”

“Pleased to meet you, Bill,” Lex said, moving aside a bit to let him get a look at Griff. Maybe it was unwise, but he felt he could trust Bill. At least a little bit.

Bill stepped closer and looked down at Griff, who was still unconscious. “He looks bad, but yeah, he's the same guy. He was an instructor at a training I attended. We both remarked at the time how odd it was that we looked alike.” His expression grew far away for a moment, although Lex was sure he'd react instantly if he made any sudden or threatening moves. “Good guy. Wouldn't mind having him around.”

“Why?”

Bill gave him a long look, as if deciding whether to answer. Finally, he said, “We lost most of our deputies right after the bombs. We're training some volunteers, but Griff has actual experience. He'd be welcome.”

Lex was glad to hear that, having been concerned that they would be turned away. In situations like this, communities got insular, and for good reason. “He's got skills. Took down five ferals by himself.”

Bill frowned. “That's a lot.” His nostrils flared. “You're Omega. You his?”

Now it was Lex's turn to frown. He'd known as soon as Bill had gotten close that he was a Beta but few Betas could tell. “You're scent aware?”

Bill nodded. “Very. Comes in handy in this line of work.”

Lex could imagine. Joshua, his boss at the Agency, had been a scent-aware Beta as well. “Guess it would. But no, I'm not his. Why do you ask?”

Bill shrugged. “Your scent says you are.” He sniffed again. “And that's odd.”

Lex was almost too distracted to ask what was odd. His scent said he was Griff's? When had that happened? Griff hadn't given him the mating bite. He'd thought that was required. Then his brain caught up with what Bill had said. “What's odd?”

“Don't generally smell protective on an Omega towards an Alpha. Usually the other way around. Only smelled that once before.”

Now Lex was more confused.

“You say he killed five ferals,” Bill said. “How many'd you kill?”

“Just the one,” Lex answered.

Bill's eyebrows went up. “That's pretty impressive, actually. Didn't really expect you to say any, but for an Omega to take on a feral? Usually, an Omega'd run at the first whiff of a feral.”

Lex stiffened. “Griff was wounded. Someone had to do it.”

“Yeah,” Bill said agreeably. “But you stuck around long enough for him to get wounded. That says something.”

Lex wasn't quite sure what, but he was tired of the conversation and wanted to get Griff to medical help.

Before he could say anything, though, Bill nodded at Griff. “Help me get him into my car. We'll take him to the clinic. See what's wrong with him.”

That was one of the best ideas Lex had heard in quite some time. A few minutes later, Griff was settled in the back seat while Lex was in front with Bill.

They made the drive to Jericho in silence. Lex hoped things were about to take a turn for the better.


	9. October 21

Lex took a long look at Jericho as they drove through the town. Most of the buildings were dark. Only a handful of cars were being driven, all of them older models like Bill's SUV. A few people even rode horses. Yeah, that was weird, but it made sense. Hay was probably easier to come by than gasoline, which presumably needed to be saved for generators.

One building appeared to have been burned down. The library, maybe, by the look of it. Who burned down a library?

As they arrived at the clinic, Bill pulled as close to the doors as he could. Lex checked on Griff, who was still unconscious. He hopped out and took Griff's feet while Bill got his shoulders. They carried him into the clinic, and Bill called out for someone named April.

As they carried him to an examination room, Lex paid attention. Everyone in the hall did a double take as they walked by. Okay, yeah, two other guys who looked like Bill would attract some attention. However, no one spoke to them, and Lex let his attention shift to something more interesting. Lights were on, and he recognized the distinctive sound of a generator. So power grid was down. No surprise there. Most of the medical equipment was dark. Lack of power? Or something else? Equipment down. Newer cars not running. Really, that only added up to one thing.

As they lay Griff on an examination table, Lex asked. “Did an EMP go off?”

Bill gave him a look. “Yeah. Almost three weeks ago now. Where were you?”

Lex smoothed the hair away from Griff's face. “In the middle of nowhere, probably. There's not much between here and Denver.”

“True,” Bill said.

A woman bustled in. Lex gave her a once over. Pretty but with an air of competence. Beta, his nose told him, now that he was paying attention to such things. He also caught an air of tired from her. The only doctor in town?

“What do we have here?” she asked.

“April, this is Griff Krenshaw,” Bill said. “I knew him a while back. He and Lex here took down six ferals outside of town.”

“And one of them got in a good lick on him,” April said as she started to remove Griff's shirts. “Lucky they didn't kill the both of you.”

“More skill than luck, I think,” Bill said.

Lex was grateful the deputy seemed to be on their side. He really had been half-afraid they'd turn them both away. Now that Griff was hurt, he wondered if he couldn't make himself useful in ways Jericho wouldn't expect.

April was so focused on Griff's injuries that she didn't seem to have noticed that the three men in the exam room looked basically alike. Lex was cringing internally at the thought of how they were going to explain themselves to the town.

“Hmm,” April said as she probed the stomach wound. “Clean but will require stitches. I'll send Gail in to handle that.” She then moved to Griff's side, where a huge bruise was spreading and now covered half of his torso.

“He said he thought his kidney was bruised,” Lex said.

“That would make sense. I'll have Gail also catheterize him. That will tell us.”

Lex couldn't suppress the involuntary wince at the thought of being catheterized.

“Bill, can you move him to one of the rooms? I'll send Gail in with everything she needs. I want to keep him overnight, for observation.”

“Sure. Lex can help me.”

Lex nodded. Keeping Griff in the clinic overnight put off their need to find somewhere to stay. He didn't have any good ideas for that.

He and Bill moved Griff into another room and settled him on the bed. As soon as he was down, Bill said, “I need to get back to my patrol. I'll stop by later to check on you, but you're in good hands with Gail Green. She's the Mayor's mate and used to be a nurse. April's her daughter-in-law, and she's been helping a lot in the clinic.”

“Sure. Thanks. They won't mind if I stay with him?”

Bill shook his head. “Shouldn't.”

He left, and Lex felt strangely alone. He didn't know many people here. One of them just left and the other was unconscious.

A few minutes later, a woman entered the room with an armful of supplies. She was middle-aged but had a similar air of competence to April. Lex was a bit surprised to note that she was an Omega. She put down all the supplies and held out a hand. “Gail Green. I'm going to patch up your...friend? Or is he more than that?”

The question was asked in a neutral fashion, and Lex found himself saying, “Bill said we smelled like we were together, but..well...I don't know why. We're not mated or anything.”

Gail gave him a warm smile. “First relationship, then?”

Lex blinked. “Uh, yeah. How did you know?”

She looked him over, her expression knowing. “You're a bit old for it. Were you on suppressants until recently?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded as she laid out the suturing supplies. “That explains it. Those mess with all your senses. You either had a bad encounter with your first Alpha or you worked in a job where you simply couldn't present as an unmated Omega.”

She started stitching up Griff's wound. Lex noticed she wasn't using a local anesthetic. They must be conserving their medical supplies. Her hands moved with assurance, however, and Lex was confident she knew what she was doing.

“Kind of both?”

“So you're new to it,” she said. “Yes, it's obvious you're not mated, but your scent will react to what your body wants, and it's pretty evident you want him.”

He started to blush at her frankness.

She must have noticed because she added, “It's nothing to be embarrassed about, although it's normal for an Omega in their first relationship to be a bit shy about it all. It can be overwhelming at first.”

“How long have you been mated?” He was fairly sure that question didn't cross any etiquette boundaries.

“More than thirty years, and I don't regret a single one of them.”

She finished stitching up Griff and then matter-of-factly pulled off his jeans and boxers and inserted the catheter. Bloody urine immediately started flowing into the bag. “Yes, looks like his kidney is bruised. We'll monitor that, but as long as he rests, he should recover just fine.”

She injected him with an antibiotic and said, “April will probably release him tomorrow, unless something changes overnight. We don't have many beds, and we try to reserve them for serious illnesses or injury.”

Lex nodded. “That's fine. I'm sure it's what Griff would want too.”

Gail gave him a thorough once over. “You and he look a lot like Bill. Is there a story to that?”

“I don't know, ma'am. Or if there is, I don't know any of it. I only met Griff a few weeks ago, and I've never met Bill before now.”

“Hmm,” she said. “Well, maybe Bill can fill in some pieces later.”

“Maybe. Can I stay with Griff tonight?”

She smiled and nodded. “Of course. Won't be very comfortable, though.”

He shrugged. “Ma'am, I've been sleeping on the ground for weeks now. A chair in a warm building is a definite step up.”

Gail laughed. “I guess it would be. Someone will be by later to change the catheter and check on him.”

“Thank you.” He meant that to include more than just the medical care.

From the smile she gave him, he thought she knew that. “If you have any questions, come find me. I don't mind answering. It helps sometimes.” She motioned to Griff. “Alphas only understand bits of what it's like to be an Omega.”

Lex felt tears prickle in the corner of his eyes. Her kindness to a total stranger was far more than he'd expected and maybe more than he thought he deserved. But he also thought he'd probably take her up on the offer. There was just so much he didn't know. Things other people seemed to take for granted.

Gail left and Lex sat down in the chair by the bed. It did look like an uncomfortable chair, but right now it was warm. And next to Griff. He settled in, holding Griff's hand and putting his head down on the edge of the bed. He'd contemplate what he could do to help Jericho. He had a few ideas brewing, if he could just flesh them out.

***

Wakefulness came slowly to Griff. First, scent. Lex was nearby. That was good. It meant he was safe. He also noticed hospital smells. So Lex had managed to get them to Jericho?

Sounds came next. Soft breathing. Voices in the distance. But no beeping of monitors. Why hospital smells but not sounds?

Touch came slowly. A hand gripped his. Something warm was pressed against his side.

Pain came next. He could have done without that. A line of fire spread across his stomach. That must be the slash wound. He was used to that. What was harder was the dull ache near his kidney. It certainly felt like a bruised kidney. He'd had one in training before when he hadn't dodged a bokken fast enough. He'd never forget that particular pain.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and moved his head just enough to look at what was pressed against him. Lex, just as he'd thought. His head was pillowed on one hand while the other held Griff's. It was...nice. A level of domestic he'd not been sure he'd ever have. Not that he'd be able to keep it. They'd made it to Jericho. He hoped that deputy he'd met at a training conference still lived here. He didn't seem the type to move, though, so he thought the chances were good. Plus Jericho was one of the places that would avoid fallout, so it was a good place for that reason too.

If Bill would be willing to take Lex, then Griff could leave and try to learn more about the plot. Now that he was free of the tracker, he could investigate the things that had never added up for him. He freely used his handlers’ misconception about his level of intelligence to his advantage, and he knew just enough to know he'd never been given the full story and that some of what he had been told had likely been lies.

He forced himself to look away from Lex. This last week had been nice, but he had to start pulling back. To get ready to give him up. However, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to stroke Lex's hair. It needed a cut and a wash, but it was still soft and felt so good under his fingers.

“Hey,” came a low, familiar voice from the doorway.

Griff glanced over to see Bill Koehler, who was a few years older but still looked basically the same as when he'd met him at the training conference...six years ago now? Seven?

“Bill,” Griff said, hating how rough his voice sounded now.

Bill frowned. “Did you injure your throat?”

Griff shook his head. “No. Older injury. I usually sign now, when I can.”

Bill smiled and, to Griff's surprise, signed, _So go ahead. I'm fluent._

Griff raised his hands tentatively. Neither his stomach nor his kidney protested the motion, and he signed, _How did you know I was here?_

Because I'm the one who found you and brought you here. He motioned to Lex and said, out loud this time, “You've found a keeper in that one.”

Griff glanced over. Lex was still breathing deeply and was obviously sound asleep. This was probably a good time. He turned back to Bill. _I have to leave as soon as I'm able. And I can't take him with me. Will he be safe here? Can you take care of him?_

It hurt to ask that, but he knew it was the right thing. As long as Lex was safe, Griff could do what he needed to.

Bill frowned at Griff and then looked at Lex. He went back to signing. _Why? Why can't you stay? We need someone with your skills, and an Omega who doesn't run from a feral? Sure, he can stay, but I'd rather have you both._

Griff was relieved. Lex could stay. He'd be safe. That was good. _People are after me. I'm not FBI anymore._ He hesitated, wondering how much he could trust Bill with. He remembered the deputy as being a good man but sometimes a bit insular in his thinking. On the other hand, he needed to understand. If he knew the whole story, he'd probably throw Griff out himself, which might make this all easier.

_Lex indicted that you used to be an agent but aren't anymore. What happened?_

Griff signed most of the story to Bill. About being positive for the Evil Gene. Bill definitely reacted to that, but he kept on listening. How the drugs controlled it. How he wasn't really sure he needed the drugs after some of the biofeedback training he'd received, but he took them anyway. About being trained as an assassin. About working for the people who had been responsible for the bombs.

When Bill didn't run screaming for the authorities at that, Griff relaxed enough to tell him about killing Stiles and saving Lex.

_I was supposed to kill them both. They didn't know it, but they were close to stopping the Denver bomb, and I was supposed to make sure that didn't happen. But I couldn't kill Lex. I've never killed an Omega and I never will._

He stopped then. That was enough of the story. Bill would see the sense in him leaving. He couldn't help reaching out to touch Lex lightly on the back, feeling him breathe.

Bill was shaking his head. _That's some story, man. If I didn't know a couple of things, I'd be calling for the rest of the deputies, and we'd lock you up. But I do know a couple of things._

_You probably should lock me up, but I'd appreciate it if you'd let me leave. I promise I won't come back. And I might be able to do some good out there._

Bill shook his head again. _You probably could, but here's what I know. First, you were a damned good agent. I don't care that you made a mistake. They happen. Sending you to Godfrey was all kinds of wrong. And man, you don't have the gene. I know that for a fact._

Griff was shocked. Bill was wrong. He had to be wrong. Griff had it. Look at what he'd done at Godfrey. _That can't be true._

Bill's signing was forceful now. _Look, did you know why I gave you my card when I met you and asked you out?_

Now Griff was confused. What did that have to do with anything? He shook his head.

_I'm scent-aware. Strongly so. When you're a scent-aware Beta, other Betas are boring. I've always preferred Alphas, even though most of them aren't interested in anything long term. But anyway, I scented you then, and I'm scenting you now. I know what a feral smells like. You ain't one._

_But I'm on meds._

_Doesn't matter. Meds might change your behavior, maybe. But you'd still have the gene, and I'd smell it. You don't have it. Oh, I can smell it on you from the ferals you fought, but I know the difference._

Now Griff wasn't sure what to think.

_Biofeedback doesn't work, Griff. I've read the literature. You've been brainwashed into thinking you have it. That gives them control over you. But trust me. You don't have it. I'd know._

That changed some things, but not all of them. _They are still after me. Lex disabled the tracker, but they will guess that I've gone to Jericho. They know that I know that it's one of the places the fallout won't reach. So if I'm here, you're all in danger._

Bill nodded at that. Good, he was seeing sense.

_Might be. But in my experience, people like that don't just go away if we tell ‘em you're gone. They just keep coming back until they are sure or they've destroyed everyone. You know something about them. You can tell us how to fight them. Because by removing that tracker, you've guaranteed they are coming._

Griff hadn't considered that. He'd been so happy to have the tracker gone that he'd not thought about putting the entire town in danger.

_Don't beat yourself up. No one deserves to be marked like that. And there's one other thing, and it concerns him._ Bill motioned to the sleeping Lex.

Griff tilted his head in question.

_First off, you two belong together. Anyone with a nose can tell that. And second, Jericho has too many unmated Alphas and not enough unmated Omegas. There'd be fights over him, and trust me. If you care about him at all, and I can tell you do, the only unmated Alpha you'd be okay with doesn't like guys that way and wouldn't take him. So if you leave him behind, he's gonna end up with some jerk._

All of Griff's instincts rose up, and, even injured, he would have fought the first Alpha who walked in that door.

Bill smiled at him. _Exactly what I thought. You'd fight for him._

_He's a good guy. Are you mated? You like guys. Maybe you?_

Bill actually laughed out loud at that. Lex stirred. _Not a chance. Oh, I could like him, I think. But there's no way I can mate him properly. Some Alpha jerk like Marshall, one of the new, and mostly useless, deputies, would take him._

Griff knew it to be true. He hadn't considered that Jericho had an imbalance. He could keep any Alpha at bay, if needed. But Bill couldn't.

Lex stirred again and yawned.

Bill signed quickly. _I think you need to stay. Help us and mate him properly. He wants you, and you've proven you want him._

Lex raised his head. “Hey, Bill. Griff, you're awake. How are you feeling?”

Bill was giving him a knowing look. The scent coming off Lex was unmistakable. He might not realize it yet, but he was falling for Griff.

And Griff had already fallen for him.

_You know I'm right_, Bill signed, just out of Lex's line of sight.

Griff sighed. Yes, he was.

And really, was he that upset about it?


	10. October 22

The rest of the night passed restlessly. Someone came in every couple of hours to check on Griff, who was apparently doing well. His vitals were good, and his kidney wasn't getting worse. Lex slept as much as he could, but it was broken. Between weeks of sleeping on the ground and now this, he was pretty sure he'd kill for just one night in an actual bed.

April came by around six in the morning and said she'd release Griff mid-morning, unless something changed. “You still need rest. I don't want you walking any farther than the bathroom until your urine is clear.”

Griff nodded, and Lex made a note to make sure it happened, no matter what.

Before April could leave, Griff stopped her. “Please check Lex’s eyes.”

April stopped and turned suddenly. “What’s wrong with your eyes? Why didn’t you say something yesterday?”

“Because they’re fine,” Lex said. “There was no reason to bother her.”

Griff shook his head and gave Lex a stern expression. “Might not be fine.” He looked at April. “He was blind for almost two weeks.”

April had her pen light out so quickly she might almost have conjured it into her hand. She motioned for Lex to sit, and he sighed and followed directions.

She shone the light in his eyes. “What happened?”

“Got knocked out by a blast. Griff said my eyes were dilating normally but I couldn’t see anything.”

“Was your vision completely black or just very blurry?”

“Completely black.”

“How did your vision return? Slowly or all at once?”

“All at once,” Lex said. “I woke up, and it was back.” He blushed. “But, I was...well...distracted the day before. It’s possible it came back, and I didn’t realize it at the time.”

April turned off her light and straightened. “Distracted how?”

He felt his blush deepen. “I was in heat.”

She nodded. “An understandable distraction. Well, your eyes look normal now. My guess is that you suffered from traumatic optic neuropathy, which is a fancy way of saying you suffered some brain damage to your optic nerve. Vision comes back without treatment in about half the cases. That’s probably what happened to you. If you notice any future vision problems, come see me immediately.”

Lex nodded, as did Griff. “I will. Thank you.”

She gave him a distracted smile and left.

Lex shot Griff a look. The Alpha just said, “Better to know.”

Lex supposed he was right.

Bill stopped by on his way to the station to check on them. When he heard Griff was going to be released later, he nodded and said, “You guys can bunk with me. When April lets you go, come get me, Lex. I'm on paperwork and training the new guys, so I should be there. I'll bring my SUV for him. I don't live far from here, but it's still farther than he should walk.”

Lex thanked him. It did solve the problem of where they would stay. Bill gave him directions to the station and left. Griff dozed and Lex planned until Gail came in to tell them Griff was being released.

“Thank you, ma'am. Bill said we could stay with him and that I should go get him so he can drive Griff home. Can he stay in the waiting area until we get back?”

“You sure can.” She smiled at Griff. “Let me see if I can get you something to eat while you wait. You're too thin.”

Lex had been thinking the same thing for several days now, and he was glad someone else had noticed. He left Griff in her capable hands and walked to the station to find Bill.

Everything he saw on his way confirmed what he had thought yesterday. Most everything electronic was dead. He needed to talk to Bill and Griff because he thought he had a partial solution.

He found the station easily enough and walked in. As soon as he entered, he became the center of attention. Right, he looked like Bill, who worked here. Most of the people were Betas, but there were two Alphas. One was a large, heavy-set man in a deputy uniform. Lex knew he was mated. The other was younger and taller but not as heavy. He was unmated, and Lex didn't like the glitter in his dark eyes.

The large deputy came around the counter, hand outstretched in a friendly greeting. Lex took it and was grateful the man had a firm but not obnoxious grip. No stupid dominance games with this one. “I'm Jimmy Taylor. Bill's partner. He said someone who looked pretty much exactly like him would be stopping by later.” Jimmy smiled. “He wasn't kidding.”

Lex smiled back. “I'm Lex. Is Bill here?” His eyes darted around the large room, but he didn't see Bill.

Jimmy shook his head. “He stepped out for a minute but should be back soon. I'll go out back and see if he's coming and let him know you're here.”

“Thanks,” Lex said.

Jimmy left, and the Betas went back to whatever they were doing. They were still giving him sidelong glances but were otherwise ignoring him. The other Alpha, however, swaggered over.

Lex gave an internal eye roll and braced himself for the inevitable confrontation.

“I'm Marshall,” the Alpha said as he approached, moving into Lex's personal space.

He knew what to do and didn't back down. If he was going to stay in Jericho, he needed to deal with the bullies as well as the decent people like Gail Green and Jimmy Taylor. He met Marshall's eyes but said nothing. There really wasn't anything he could say. Almost anything would be interpreted as weakness in some way. So he waited to see what the Alpha would do.

He did what Lex had expected and put a hand on his shoulder, applying enough of a grip to let Lex know he could do more if he wanted to.

Lex gave him one chance. “Please remove your hand.”

Marshall grinned and made a show of testing the air. “I don't think so. You've got the smell of an Alpha all over you, but he hasn't made you his mate. I'm thinking you're looking for a real Alpha. I'd be happy to show you what a real Alpha can do.”

Stiles’ voice again sounded in his memory. You're quick, and Alphas will underestimate you. Use it, Lex.

And Lex did. Before the big Alpha could react, Lex reached up, grabbed the man's hand, twisted just so and had him kneeling on the ground in an elbow lock.

Marshall tried to stand up to free himself, but Lex applied more pressure, just shy of breaking his elbow.

“What the fuck?” came Bill's voice from behind them. Lex didn't move his attention from Marshall, knowing this was a delicate moment. He wouldn't want to be shown up in front of Bill and Jimmy, his nominal superiors, and if he was going to try something, it would be now.

“Marshall,” Jimmy said. “Don't be a bigger idiot than you usually are.”

Lex swore to himself. Wrong thing to say, Jimmy. Now Marshall would have to try to prove himself.

Sure enough, Marshall tried again to get free. Unfortunately for him, unless you were trained, it was almost impossible to break free of a well-applied elbow lock, and Lex had him.

Nothing for it. Lex applied more pressure. If Marshall didn't stop moving, his elbow was going to break.

Lucky for him, Marshall gave a grunt of pain but stopped moving.

Bill stepped up to them. “Learned your lesson, Marshall? When an Omega says no, he means no.”

Lex was grateful that Bill assumed the Alpha had started things.

“You can let him go now, Lex. I think you've made your point.”

Lex let go and stepped back.

Marshall stood up, rubbing his elbow and glaring daggers at both Bill and Lex. The Beta and Omega stared right back, and the Alpha stalked off into the back.

Jimmy approached and said, “Nice job, Lex. He's needed someone to take him down a peg. That was a sweet elbow lock.”

Lex smiled. “Thank you, Jimmy.”

One of the other Betas, a woman, said, “Marshall totally had it coming. Lex told him no, but the idiot didn't listen.”

Bill nodded. “Thanks, Sarah. I figured that was what had happened.”

“See you in a bit, Bill?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah. I shouldn't be long.”

“I'll send Marshall on patrol. Might help him cool down.”

“Good thinking.”

He motioned Lex to the door, and they left the station. As soon as they got outside, Bill said, “Well done. Marshall is an idiot, but he's not easy to get the drop on. You're either fast or he underestimated you.”

“A bit of both, I think,” Lex said. “I had a good teacher, though. I'm former CIA, so I had to deal with a lot of Alpha idiots.”

Bill grinned at him. “I can only imagine.” His expression sobered. “You need to know something though, if you're staying. Right now Jericho has more unmated Alphas than Omegas. I mentioned that to Griff last night. If you guys are thinking about being more than casual, you might not want to wait too long. Otherwise, you'll have more of that to deal with.”

Again, Lex was surprised at how frankly someone was discussing this with him. “I don't know where we're going. Griff and I haven't really talked about it. We were mostly focused on getting here.”

They got to Bill's car, hopped in and started back to the clinic.

“Talk to him. Ask him what he was thinking about and what he's thinking now.”

“You think he's interested?” Lex had thought about that last night, and he knew he wanted Griff. It was hard to think anything else when apparently everyone else kept mentioning it to him. Not that he'd ever imagined having an Alpha, but if he had, he was pretty sure he'd have imagined someone like Griff, who liked him as much for what he could do as for him being a handy Omega.

Bill nodded. “I don't want to speak for him, but yes, I think so.”

They arrived at the clinic, and, again, Bill parked as close as he could. Before they went in, Lex put a hand on him to stop him. “Bill, I've noticed you guys have very little in the way of electronics. Not much is working in the clinic, and I'm guessing you don't have any communications systems up and running?”

“Nope. EMP took them all out.”

“I need to talk to you and Griff when you have a chance. I may have an idea.”

Bill raised an eyebrow. “Really? Okay. We can talk after my shift. I don't want to leave Jimmy on his own for too long with the new guys.”

Lex smiled. “He seems like he can hold his own.”

Bill smiled back. “He can. He may look like a giant Care Bear, but he's still an Alpha, and you mess with him at your own risk.”

Lex led the way into the waiting area and saw Griff dozing in a plastic chair. As soon as Lex got close, Griff's head came up with a snap, his nostrils flaring.

“Alphas,” he growled.

Bill walked up and said, “Chill out. Yes, two Alphas touched him. One was my partner who is mated and the most decent human being you'll ever meet. The other one is an idiot, but your boy knows how to handle himself. Marshall won't mess with him for a while at least.”

Griff still stood up and put an arm around Lex's waist, as if to reassure himself that the Omega was all right.

“It's cool, Griff,” Lex said. “I've dealt with my share of Alpha assholes.”

Griff nodded but turned to Bill. “Marshall one of those you mentioned last night?”

“Yep.” He changed the subject. “You got everything you need? I want to get you settled so I can get back to my shift.”

Griff started for the door, Lex providing quite a bit of support. He helped Griff into the back seat, so he could get comfortable, and then climbed into the front, curious to see where the deputy lived.

*** 

Bill pulled up in front of a garden apartment complex that was old but appeared to have been well-maintained. Lex helped Griff out of the SUV and followed Bill up to the second floor. 203. Easy to remember. Bill opened the door and motioned them in. “It’s not much, but it’s comfortable enough.”

The door opened onto a living/dining area with a kitchen off to the left. To the right of the living area were three doors, two of which Lex could see led to bedrooms. The third one looked to be a bathroom.

Bill nodded at one of the bedrooms. “I got Jimmy to help me bring over a bed from one of the abandoned houses. If the owner comes back, we’ll deal with it then. Hope you two don’t mind sharing a bed.”

Lex lowered Griff into one of the comfortable looking chairs in the living area. “We’ve been huddled under jackets on the ground for weeks now. I think we’ll manage.” Sleeping on an actual bed with Griff sounded really good. Assuming the Alpha didn’t mind. He gave Griff a questioning look and got back a nod in return.

Good.

Motioning in the direction of the kitchen, Bill continued. “There’s food in there. Not a lot, but I’m going to add you two to my ‘household’ so you can collect rations. We’re tight, so everything is strictly rationed, but one of my best friends is a farmer, and I think I can get a few eggs or the like. Griff, no offense, but you look like you need to add some weight back.”

Griff shrugged.

“His metabolism runs hot,” Lex said. “I can share mine with him. I’ve never been a big eater. Assuming there’s not much coffee? That and tea are what I live on.”

Griff gave a low growl at that, and Lex rolled his eyes at him. “You’re not my mother!”

“And on that note, I’ll leave,” Bill said with a grin. “Help yourself to what I have. I’ll be off duty in a few hours, and we can talk about your ideas, Lex.”

Griff gave him a curious look.

“Had some ideas on getting the town some electronics back running.”

Griff nodded, but Lex noticed his eyes were drooping.

Bill went to the door but paused and hurried to the kitchen, coming back out with a key, which he gave to Lex. “I’d advise against going out, but, just in case, you ought to have a key.”

He started to leave but paused again. “Oh, you both look like you’ve been living rough. Since we’re all about the same size, feel free to borrow some of my clothes. I’ve been taking my laundry to Jimmy’s house. His mate has a washboard, and it works pretty well.”

Lex smiled. “That’s generous of you. Thank you.”

“I’ve got the tub filled with water. Feel free to scoop some out for a sponge bath. It’s cold but about the best we have right now.”

Even cold, it sounded like an awesome idea to Lex.

“I think that’s really it now,” Bill said and left.

As soon as he was gone, Lex turned to Griff. “Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed. Unless you want some food first?”

Griff shook his head. “Gail fed me.”

“Good for her.” He helped Griff into the bathroom and out of his clothes. Griff was moving stiffly enough that it was easier for Lex to just bathe the both of them. It wasn’t nearly as good as a shower, but he felt somewhat cleaner. He supported Griff into their bedroom and was pleased to see the bed already made up with sheets, pillows and several quilts. The day wasn’t too cold, but the apartment was chilly, and Lex was looking forward to sleeping warmer than he had been for days.

Griff was out almost as soon as he lay down, and Lex watched him sleep for a moment before going in search of food. Gail hadn’t fed him! He rummaged in the kitchen and found some bagged rice and oats and a small pile of canned food. He wasn’t sure what Bill used to heat things up, so he took a can of beans, dumped it all in a ceramic bowl and heated the whole thing over the JetBoil, ignoring the instructions to not use it inside. Cooking by an open window counted, right?

Stomach mostly full, he went back to the bedroom and curled up next to Griff. Being warm and comfortable was so novel that he tried to stay awake to enjoy it. But he was asleep within minutes.

***

When Lex awoke again, it was nearly dark. He was still tired, but he was also restless. He went up on his elbow to watch Griff sleep. All the worry lines were erased, and he looked peaceful. And beautiful. And desirable.

Lex wanted. The wanting was so strong it was almost a physical pain. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get it. Lex wanted Griff as his Alpha. But he didn’t know how to ask. Or if he should ask. Sure, everyone was telling him they belonged together, but that didn’t make it so. Was he supposed to wait for Griff to initiate something? Was it okay for him to ask? He just didn’t know, having never thought he’d be in this position.

In less than a month, how had he gone from Never ever going to want to be claimed by an Alpha to Now I want it but have no idea how to make it happen?

“What’s wrong?” Griff asked, eyes still closed.

Lex jumped a little, not having realized he was awake. “Why do you ask?”

Griff wrinkled his nose. “Your scent. Not unhappy, but also not happy. Worrying about something?”

Lex lay down on Griff’s chest, being careful to avoid stitches and the healing wound. He told himself this was his chance and to just say it. What was the worst Griff would do? Say no? And they’d stay friends with benefits maybe? Would that be so bad?

“Go ahead. Not going to bite.”

And therein lay the problem. Because a bite was exactly what Lex wanted.

“I want you to be my Alpha.” There. He’d said it.

Griff stirred under him and half sat up. Lex moved with him and leaned on an elbow. Griff’s eyes were open now, shining golden in the early evening light coming through the window. He started signing. You mean you want me to make you my mate?

Lex wasn’t good enough with signs to read Griff’s “tone,” but he couldn’t back down now. “Yes.”

You know that’s a permanent thing? At least for me? I’m not one of those Alphas who can just switch from one Omega to another on a whim.

Lex nodded. Griff hadn’t rejected him yet, so maybe this was going okay? “I know. Seeing as how I went from ‘no chance on an Alpha’ to ‘now I want one’ in just a few weeks, I doubt I’m going to want to go hunting for another one.”

Griff reached out and ran a gentle finger down one of Lex’s sideburns before signing, And maybe that’s the best reason not to rush into this. I’m your first. I’m the only one you really know. Maybe we should wait. Let you play the field a bit.

Lex wasn’t sure what to say to that. He didn’t want to play the field. Bill had warned him about the Alpha/Omega imbalance in Jericho, and he’d basically implied he didn’t think Lex would be a good match for any of them. But if Griff didn’t want him? Was that what he was saying? He thought his nose was telling him Griff was still interested. That if he knew the right thing to say, he’d get what he wanted.

But he didn’t know the right thing to say. So all he said was, “I suppose that might be a good idea.”

His nose twitched at the sudden whiff of unhappiness he caught from Griff, but he wasn’t sure enough to say anything.

Just then, he heard someone at the door. Both he and Griff sat up, ready to move. The door opened, and Bill said, “Just me. Relax in there.”

Griff chuckled. “He really is sensitive.”

Lex wondered again. Bill said Griff wanted him. Shouldn’t he listen to the more experienced Beta?

But Griff was already climbing out of bed and pulling on the pair of Bill’s jeans Lex had left by the side of the bed. Lex shrugged and followed him into the living room, where Bill was removing his jacket and duty belt.

“I added you to the ration list,” Bill said. “If you want to go collect some food tomorrow, you can.”

Griff walked carefully to the couch and sat down. Lex hesitated. Before the conversation they’d just had, he wouldn’t have thought about it and just sat beside him. Now he wasn’t sure, and he hated it. He decided to be safe and sit on a chair.

Bill gave him a quizzical look but walked past them to the kitchen. “Let me get something to eat, change clothes, and you can fill us in on your idea, Lex. Either of you want anything? I can heat up two cans of stew just as easily as one.”

Griff accepted, but Lex’s stomach was clenched too tight, and he didn’t think he could eat anything.

Bill changed clothes while the food cooked, gave Griff his share and finally settled in one of the other chairs. “So, what are you thinking, Lex? Because we have certainly thought about how to get some of our equipment running. Especially the radios.”

Lex nodded. “So, the EMP fried most everything, but there’s two things we can look at. The first is that some electronics may have been shielded, especially if they were in a metal box or maybe even far back in a basement.”

Bill nodded. “We’ve thought of that, but we didn’t have time to go through each house and try everything. We have told people to check their own electronics, but only a few came up with anything, and they were mostly useless. A couple of GameBoys, two baby monitors and some small kitchen appliances.”

Lex grinned. “Those aren’t as useless as you might be thinking. I was hoping to find a few baby monitors.”

Bill raised an eyebrow. “Really? What are they good for?”

“Relay stations. Let’s say we got a few handheld radios working. But they require a relay station to transmit. I can modify a baby monitor to do that.”

Bill smiled. “You can?”

“Sure. Range will be crap, but if we virtually daisy chained a bunch of them together, we could cobble together something. But that’s a last resort. There’s a much better option I’d like to look at first.”

“Okay?”

“So what can shield a device from an EMP?” Lex asked.

Bill shrugged. “Pretty much what you said, I guess.”

“Right. Have you heard of a Faraday Cage?”

“Heard the term,” Bill said.

Griff sat up straighter, and Lex wondered if he saw where he was going with this.

“So a Faraday Cage is basically a grounded metal cage that blocks electromagnetic fields. Anything inside a cage will be protected.”

“Sure,” Bill said. “I can see that. But we didn’t have any of those here.”

“No,” Lex agreed. “But some things act as impromptu cages. Like a metal building. For our purposes, that would act as a Faraday Cage and protect most of the things inside. And what is a warehouse, really, but a metal building, and basically a Faraday Cage?”

Bill frowned and ate some of his stew. Lex gave him time to work on it. “So you’re saying the stuff at the Costco in New Bern is probably okay?”

“Possibly,” Lex said. “But I’m going to assume the people of New Bern have already figured that out and won’t be willing to give up the stuff without a fight or a trade, and maybe you don’t have anything to trade. Better would be if we could find a warehouse that no one has looted yet.”

“Have one in mind?” Griff asked.

“Sure. There’s an Amazon warehouse in Aurora, Colorado.”

Griff groaned. “Were just there.”

Lex shrugged. “Yeah, but you had other things on your mind at the time. Like hauling my blind ass out of there.”

Bill frowned. “Wait a minute? Blind?”

Lex waved away the question. “Not important right now. I’ll explain later. I think that warehouse may have everything we need, and it’s not been looted because it was so close to the blast site. Too much radiation.”

“Which means we can’t get there either, so I’m not seeing the point,” Bill said.

“My pills?” Griff said.

Lex nodded. “Yes How many do you have?”

“Eight,” Griff said. “Need two per person to be safe.”

“Pills?” Bill asked. “What pills are you talking about?”

Lex turned to Bill. “Griff has some anti-radiation pills that are definitely not on the open market. But they work. We were both in Aurora when the bomb went off.” He opened his arms. “As you can see, we’re both healthy.”

Griff was nodding. “Could work.” He switched to sign language. So you’re thinking, what? Take a couple of vehicles and four people? You, me, Bill and one other. Raid the warehouse and bring a bunch of stuff back here?

Lex nodded. “Exactly. What do you think, Bill?”

Bill was looking doubtful. “These pills really work?”

Griff nodded. My handlers developed them. They knew they’d need to protect themselves from radiation. They kept us healthy. They’d work for four of us. We’d be in and out in a few hours. Two pills are good for six to eight hours. Plenty of time.

Bill was still looking doubtful but less so.

“Think about it, Bill,” Lex said. “Working electronics. Also food. There should be plenty of packaged food, like nutrition bars, tuna in pouches and the like. Easy to move and carry.”

“Need four trucks,” Griff said. “Carry the most.”

“You two sound like you’re basically ready to go do this,” Bill protested. “You’re talking about deliberately walking into a hot area, doing a little shopping and driving back out.”

Lex nodded. “Pretty much, yeah. It’s a risk, yes, but I think it’s worth it.”

“Agree,” Griff said.

Bill frowned, as if in thought, and Lex gave him time to process. He’d been thinking about this for a couple of days, which gave him an edge up on the deputy. From the ease with which Griff accepted it, he wondered if he hadn’t been thinking about it too.

Finally, Bill sighed and said, “All right. I see your point. But we’ve got to run this past the Mayor. I’m not going to do this without some official backing.”

Lex nodded. “I’ve got no problem with that. Aurora is two hundred miles away. That’s a lot of gas if we take four trucks. I agree we should get someone in authority to go along with this. Poke holes in the idea too. We can’t leave until Griff has healed, and that’s going to be a few days anyway.”

“Not that long,” the Alpha insisted.

“Don’t make me follow you into the restroom to check on your pee, Griff,” Lex said.

Griff glared at him, but Lex wasn’t going to back down on that. Maybe he didn’t want him as a mate, but he still was going to look out for him. They made a good team. As good as him and Stiles. Sadness washed over him. Another teammate he was in love with that he couldn’t have.

Bill sighed. “Okay. I’ll take you to see Mayor Green tomorrow. You can run this crazy idea past him. If he says it’s okay, we can do it.”

“Do you have an idea for the fourth?” Lex asked.

“My first choice would be Jimmy, but we don’t dare risk both of our trained deputies. So maybe my friend, Stanley. He’s solid and has a truck. He’s just crazy enough to go along with this too.”

Lex nodded. “Okay. Sounds like a plan.” He glanced around the room. “So what do you do for entertainment around here, in the dark, with no computers?”

Bill laughed. “Read by lantern light. Hang out with your thoughts. Head over to Bailey’s and drink Mary’s rot gut.” He shrugged. “Or have sex. It’s one way to keep warm.”

Lex frowned. “Peachy.” None of them exactly sounded appealing, well, except for that last one--which was probably out of the picture now--but he guessed this was his life now.


	11. October 23

Griff had too much time that night to regret his decision about not mating Lex. They had slept in the same bed, it being the warmest option, but where on previous nights, Lex had curled up next to him, this time he carefully left as much space between them as possible. It wasn’t just space. Lex’s scent had gone from happy, sated Omega to vaguely unhappy. All of which made for restless sleeping. Then there were his stitches, which itched, and his kidney, which still ached and limited the positions in which he could comfortably lie.

He’d made the right decision, hadn’t he? Sure, Bill had pointed out good reasons for Griff to claim Lex, but there were plenty of reasons for him not to. Like the fact that his handlers were still coming for him. There were no guarantees he’d survive that, and leaving Lex effectively widowed was worse than not mating him in the first place.

That all sounded logical, but his emotions didn’t agree. All his instincts were telling him he had a willing Omega less than a foot away and that he was a fool to pass that up.

So he passed a restless night with only a few hours of broken sleep.

In the morning, he was hungry, sleep-deprived and still in pain. Bill prepared oatmeal for all of them, which Griff ate readily enough. Unfortunately, it had too little protein for him, and he knew he’d be hungry again in a few hours. He wondered if they still had any pouches of tuna in their packs.

Since Griff wasn’t healed enough to walk to City Hall, Bill drove them to the Green house. The Mayor was sick, but when Bill had mentioned the idea, he’d wanted to hear it.

“Fair warning,” Bill said as they drove over. “Gail will probably fuss at us. Both for bothering her mate and for you being out of bed, Griff.”

“Important,” Griff said.

“Sure,” Bill agreed. “Still won’t stop Gail from fussing.”

“She seems nice,” Lex said.

Bill laughed. “You haven’t seen her when she’s on a tear. Don’t let her being an Omega make you underestimate her. She’s ruthless when she needs to be. Especially when she thinks her mate is overdoing it.”

Lex nodded. “We’ll consider ourselves warned.” He glanced back at Griff. “Shouldn’t keep you up and about too long anyway.”

Griff had to wonder. Lex was acting like he still cared. But then why the distance in bed? He stifled a sigh. He’d never thought he’d have a relationship at all, so he’d never prepared for maintaining one. It was harder work than he’d thought, and they barely had anything you could call a “relationship” yet.

They arrived at the Green house, and Lex gave Griff a shoulder to help him inside. Touching Lex made him wish even more he’d never said anything yesterday.

Griff immediately saw what Bill had meant when he said Mayor Green was sick. The man was coughing and looked pale. Gail hovered over him, obviously making sure he didn’t overexert himself. She also gave him a disapproving look when he came in, hanging on Lex, and made him sit down immediately. “Didn’t we tell you to rest?”

“Am resting, ma’am,” Griff said. “But this was important.”

Mayor Green gave his mate a fond look. “If you let them talk, they’ll be gone all the sooner.”

Gail huffed and sat down next to her mate.

Lex went through his idea quickly, and both Greens were interested and obviously saw the implications. When Lex finished, Mayor Green asked a few clarifying questions, which made it obvious he liked the idea.

Once he had all his questions answered, he nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. Risky, but, I think, worth it.”

Even Gail was nodding. “If we could get even some of our equipment at the clinic working, it would make April’s job so much easier.”

“Three vehicles, I think,” Johnston said. “Stanley’s truck. Your SUV, Bill. And that old red truck we’ve been using.”

“That works, sir,” Bill said. “I still need to talk to Stanley and make sure he’s willing. We wanted to get your okay before we mentioned it to anyone else.”

Johnston nodded. “That’s fine.” He looked at Griff. “How long before you think you’ll be ready to go?”

Gail cleared her throat. “I think he’s exactly the wrong person to ask. He’ll go before he’s healed, I think.”

“You’re not wrong, ma’am,” Lex said.

“Bill, can you drive both of us to the clinic?” Gail asked. “Give April a chance to check him over?”

“I don’t think…” Griff began, but Gail gave him such a stern look that he stopped. “Never mind, ma’am. That sounds like an excellent idea.”

Griff noticed Johnston and Bill exchanging amused glances. Obviously the Mayor was happy to have someone else for his mate to boss around. If this was what mated life was like, maybe he didn’t want it after all.

It was agreed that, Stanley willing, the four of them would leave as soon as Griff was cleared to go.

Gail accompanied them, and Bill dropped them at the clinic. Lex started to follow them back, but Gail gave him a look and motioned him to a chair in the waiting area. Lex blinked at her in obvious surprise but sat where she’d indicated.

Gail helped Griff back to an examining room and supported him onto the table. With brisk efficiency, she took all his vitals and checked his stitches. She gently probed his bruises, and he winced but suffered it all in silence.

“You do look like you’re healing well,” she said. “How’s your urine?”

“Some blood but clearing,” he said.

“Good.” She took her gloves off with a snap, closed the door and then stood in front of him, hands on her hips. “I wanted to see you for more than checking you out.”

Griff frowned, having no idea what she was talking about. “Ma’am?”

“What are you doing with that boy?”

Feeling dense, all he could do was repeat, “Ma’am?”

“Lex, you fool. He was tired but happy the last time I saw him. Now, he’s radiating unhappiness when he’s not all excited explaining his idea. I don’t think Bill could have affected his mood, which means it must be you.”

Uh oh. He hadn’t expected this. Especially not from an Omega. Bill had been right.

Somehow he doubted she’d let him dodge the issue so he decided to just answer it. “He asked me to mate him. But I’m his first Alpha. Thought he should have space to learn more.”

She huffed at him. “I thought it might be something like that.” She rolled her eyes. “That has got to be the first time I’ve heard of an Alpha turning down an invitation like that. Especially considering it’s obvious you love the boy and he loves you.”

“He does?” Griff had thought so, but he hadn’t been sure if it was infatuation or love.

“Of course he does. What kind of Alpha are you to not notice it in his scent?”

He blushed. He’d never been so intimidated by an Omega in his life, and he was pretty sure his scent was letting her know that. Griff saw the look in her eye and was certain of it. “Haven’t had a relationship in a long time. Mostly been with Betas. Maybe rusty?”

His voice was starting to bother him, but he didn’t know if she signed, so he just stopped and waited for her.

Gail sighed. “You know there’s barely any decent unmated Alphas in this town?”

He nodded. “Bill said.”

“Good. I’m glad that boy has some sense at least. Look, Griff, it’s not my place to tell you what to do, but it’s clear to me that you two belong together. Lex had a few questions the last time I talked to him. Yes, it’s true he doesn’t know everything he probably should about how Alphas and Omegas work, but you seem like a decent sort, and it’s much better he learn it from you than from the likes of Marshall or Mitchell. You’ll both make some mistakes, but I think you’ll recover.” She glanced out the window. “Our world just changed, and we still don’t know what the future brings. I think you’d be a fool to not take advantage of the time you have.”

Griff considered. He had been having second thoughts about what he’d said to Lex. Maybe he needed someone like Gail to give him the kick in the rear to have another conversation. He hoped Lex would give him a second chance.

“Thank you, ma’am. Will talk to him.”

She gave him a wide smile. “Good. You do that.”

She accompanied him back to the waiting area, where Lex glanced up, his expression concerned.

“He’s fine,” Gail said. “As long as he doesn’t do anything stupid.” She gave him a look that meant either kind of stupid.

Griff nodded back at her. Message received.

She frowned. “Now how to get you back to Bill’s apartment? That’s too far for you to be walking.”

“Will manage,” Griff said.

She pursed her lips at him. “What did I say about being stupid?”

He lowered his gaze. “Not to be.” He noticed Lex watching him, a faint smile playing about his eyes.

“That’s right.” Her head came up in a listening pose, and she smiled. “Oh. I recognize that truck engine. I think we have a way to get you home.”

She walked outside, leaving Griff and Lex behind, confused. Griff moved slowly toward the door, and Lex stepped beside him and gave him an arm for support. When he reached the door, he saw Gail waving down an old truck that looked as if it was used on a farm. The truck stopped, and Gail stood on her toes to talk to the driver. Griff could just make out a shock of blond hair.

Gail turned and waved them to approach. Lex opened the door, and they went outside and slowly walked to the truck. As soon as they got close enough, Gail introduced them to the driver, who, Griff realized, must be this Stanley Bill had mentioned.

“Climb in,” Stanley said. “Gail says you’re not up for walking to Bill’s apartment. I just finished dropping off some produce and eggs at Gracie’s. I can take you to Bill’s before I head home.”

“You’re in good hands,” Gail said before she turned to go back into the clinic.

Lex had to help him up into the cab of the truck, where Griff made sure he sat between Lex and Stanley. There was no question the blond farmer was an Alpha, and unmated. Logic told him Lex was perfectly safe with someone who was Bill’s friend, but he wasn’t feeling logical at the moment.

“New in town?” Stanley asked. “And why do both of you look exactly like Bill? I thought I knew his family, and he never mentioned brothers or cousins I’ve never met.”

Griff let Lex explain. Not that it was a great explanation since none of them had any idea why they all looked alike. He wondered if Lex would tell him about the upcoming mission, but he didn’t, instead asking Stanley about his farm.

Though the ride was short, they learned about an IRS audit that was on hold until the government came back, assuming it ever did. They also heard about his sister, Bonnie, which explained why Bill knew how to sign.

He seemed like a nice enough person, but Griff was glad enough to get to the apartment. He wanted to talk to Lex.

Stanley dropped them off with a casual “See you soon,” as he drove off.

“He seems nice,” Lex said as they walked slowly up the stairs to Bill’s door. “I see why Bill likes him.”

Griff didn’t say anything, not trusting what he might say. He knew Lex was being polite and wasn’t indicating he was interested in Stanley, but he was feeling twitchy. As soon as they were inside, Griff dropped onto the couch, glad to be off his feet and not moving. Lex started for the kitchen.

“Lex,” Griff said, making his voice as soft and warm as his damaged vocal cords could manage.

Lex turned, his expression and scent uncertain. Griff patted the couch beside him and held out his hand.

“I was going to get us some food,” Lex said.

“Can wait,” Griff said. “Please?”

Lex sighed and sat down, but he didn’t take Griff’s hand. While disappointed, he supposed it was what he deserved after yesterday.

“Want to apologize for yesterday,” he said, torn between struggling for words and signing. While signing was easier, he wasn’t sure he deserved easy right now.

“Fine, whatever,” Lex said. “You made yourself pretty clear, but apology accepted. Now, I’m hungry.”

Griff shook his head. “Was scared. Shouldn’t have said it. Want to take it back, if you’ll let me.”

Lex stopped in the middle of getting up and sat back down. “What? Why?”

“Okay if I sign? Easier?”

Lex nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

Griff paused, gathering his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to say but was still uncertain about the best way to say it._ I’m not saying this excuses anything, but please remember that for years, I’ve been a thing. Told I was a monster. Trained to be a weapon. I wasn’t given choice in much of anything._

He didn’t think he was saying it well. Lex’s scent was still spiky and sharp. What could he say? How could he explain? Signs weren’t working, so he went back to his voice. “Never thought I could have a mate. Didn’t deserve one. Didn’t know what to do when one asked. Was scared and said wrong thing.”

Lex didn’t say anything for a moment but finally said, “I can see that. Are you saying you don’t want me to find other Alphas?”

Griff shook his head. “Stanley nice. Wanted to push him out of truck.”

Lex actually laughed at that. “I think Bill might have been pissed if you had.”

Griff shrugged.

Lex looked like he was considering. “So you want to try again?”

“If you will, yes.”

Lex nodded. “Yeah. I think I’d like that. Last night was pretty awful.”

Griff nodded back. Lex’s scent was smoothing, but he knew the Omega was still thinking and deciding.

“You’re not going to try to back out again, are you?”

Griff shook his head again. If Lex gave him a second chance, he was going to take it and never look back.

Lex moved closer and lay his head on Griff’s shoulder. All of Griff’s tense shoulder muscles relaxed, and he put an arm around Lex. When the Omega didn’t pull back, he pulled him in close. “So sorry,” he said.

Lex shrugged against him. “I can see why you were scared. I never thought of that. I thought maybe it was me. That I wasn’t who you wanted.”

“No. Want you.”

“You’re not a monster, you know.”

Griff wasn’t sure, but he nodded. If Lex said it was so, he’d try to believe it.

“I wanted you so badly yesterday. I thought I’d figured out what was missing in my life, and that it was you. It was almost physical how badly I wanted to be your mate. I’d thought you loved me, but then I wasn’t sure.”

Griff turned to look at Lex and to gently lift his chin with a finger. “Do love you. Have for while.”

Lex sat up. “You have? After the first time we...made love...you said something. I wasn’t sure I heard right, but then your scent changed, and I thought maybe I had heard right.”

“What I say?”

“That you loved me.”

Griff nodded. “I did. That was when.” He took a deep breath, and said it again. “I love you, Lex.”

Lex closed his eyes at the words, and Griff thought he’d said something wrong, but he saw the Omega’s nostrils flare, and then he smiled. “That’s it. That’s what I scented that night.” He breathed in deeply. “It’s so good.”

Griff dared to breathe deeply as well, and his heart soared as he smelled love from Lex.

“Lex,” he said.

The Omega reached out and grabbed him, holding him tight. The embrace hurt both his stitches and where he was bruised, but he didn’t care. He had his second chance, and he wasn’t going to mess it up.

“So what now?” Lex asked. “I mean, I guess mating means sex, and you’re probably not up for that. So do we just wait? Or what?”

Griff stifled a laugh at Lex’s nervous chatter. He wriggled just far enough back that he could kiss Lex, which shut him up nicely. When he was sure he’d gotten his point across, he pulled back and said, “Can work. Bed?”

“Sure.”

They made their way to the bedroom and fell into their usual position, with Griff half on top of Lex, covering and grounding him. They kissed, but Griff wanted to make this special for Lex. Technically a mating bite didn’t have to be part of sex, but it usually was. There was no way Griff was going to be able to get aroused--his bruised kidney still hurt too much--but that didn’t mean he couldn’t get Lex off.

He concentrated for a moment and released a pheromone he’d not been sure he’d ever use. Lex gasped and arched against him, instantly hard.

“What was that?”

Griff smiled and nuzzled Lex’s neck, near the Omega’s scent glands. “Alpha mating scent.”

Lex buried his nose in Griff’s neck and continued to press against him. Griff took that as permission to continue. He reached between them and palmed Lex through his jeans. It was going to be messy, but he didn’t want to take the time to remove clothes.

Lex was panting and soft cries of “Alpha” were coming from him.

Griff nuzzled his neck again, angling for the right spot. “Lex. Omega,” he whispered right before he gripped Lex’s dick, squeezed and bit down on his neck at the same time.

Lex exploded against him, and Griff gently licked the fresh claim mark until the Omega stopped shaking. They collapsed together on the bed, and Lex nuzzled Griff’s neck.

“Go ahead,” Griff said.

Lex raised himself up on his elbow. “But... it doesn’t work that way. You claim me.”

“Works how we want it to. Go ahead. I’m yours too.”

Lex’s expression went from worried to contemplative and then settled on wonder. “Really?”

Griff nodded and gently guided Lex to his neck. “Want.”

Lex nodded, and kissed his neck. Griff shivered and held his breath. Finally, Lex bit down, not as hard as Griff had, but it was enough. It wasn’t as sexual as it had been for Lex, but it was satisfying, and filled something in Griff that had been empty for a very long time.

“Okay?” Lex whispered against the mark.

Griff held his new mate close. “Very okay. Love you.”

“Love you, Griff.”

They settled together, heedless of anything except the warmth and comfort of a newly mated Alpha and Omega pair.


	12. Chapter 12

As soon as Bill entered the apartment, he knew what they’d done. “Finally,” he muttered. But it did cause him a few problems; not least was the effect the scent was having on him.

He couldn’t help remembering a time soon after he and Jimmy had become partners. Jimmy had asked him to come pick him up because he was running late. Not thinking too much of it, Bill had obliged. Jimmy had looked fine, uniform on straight and everything, but as soon as he got into the passenger seat, Bill had known.

“Jimmy, partner,” he’d said. “Do me a favor and never do that again.”

“Do what?” Jimmy has asked.

Instead of answering directly, Bill had said. “Don’t know if it has come up yet, but I’m scent-aware. And scent is one of the most powerfully emotional senses we have. Which means, that you being in the car right now is kind of like a porno. For smell.”

Jimmy had been startled enough to do the unthinkable, and his gaze had darted to Bill’s crotch, which had been in the expected state, considering the analogy he’d just made. “Uh, sorry, Bill,” Jimmy had said.

And it never happened again.

Right now, Bill was half-hard, and if he stayed here much longer, that half was going to be fully. Yeah, he really wanted a fuck, and, since a Beta would be especially boring, he quickly ran through the list of unmated Alphas in town. Stanley? Not interested in guys. Jake? Not a good idea. Mitch? As if! Mimi? Not if he wanted to get out alive.

He quickly decided there were no good options, and all he could do was to get out of here quickly. He could probably stay with Jimmy or Stanley for a few days until Griff and Lex got through their first couple of days. In his experience, things usually settled down after that, and he’d be able to mostly ignore it.

Which of course, meant it was time for Lex to wander into the kitchen, wearing nothing but briefs and a t-shirt. Bill generally made it a point to not ogle mated Omegas, especially newly mated Omegas who were newly mated to trained assassins--not that it had come up much before now--but, in his current condition, he couldn’t help one quick look.

Yes, Griff was one lucky Alpha.

Lex pulled up short. “Oh, hi, Bill. Didn’t hear you come in.”

Of course he hadn’t. He’d been curled up with his brand new mate, completely oblivious to the world around him.

Lex waved vaguely at the cupboards. “Was wanting some water.”

Bill opened the cupboard with the glasses and then pointed to the fridge. “No, it doesn’t work, but I have a Brita pitcher in there, and it’s a convenient place to keep it.”

Lex nodded his thanks, got a glass and opened the fridge to pour some water.

“I’m going to stay with Jimmy or Stanley for a couple of days,” Bill said as Lex turned to leave.

Lex stopped and faced him. “I don’t want you to think you have to. I mean, this is your place and all.”

Bill nodded. “I know, and I appreciate that, but it’s really not a good idea for me to stay around.” There was the obvious discomfort for him, but he didn’t want to go into that. “Griff is going to be touchy around other people for a day or two.”

Lex tilted his head in question. “Why?”

Oh, he really was naive and inexperienced, wasn’t he? “He’s going to be very--” He tried to think of the right word. Griff was going to be clingy was accurate but not something you generally wanted to say about an Alpha. “--very tactile for a day or two and probably won’t want you out of his sight. Or want you to be around other people.”

Lex started to look alarmed, and Bill hasted to add, “It won’t last. He just needs to get through his ‘new mate possessive period.’ Then he’ll be fine.” He shrugged. “It’s an Alpha thing.”

Lex shook his head. “So many things I never thought I’d have to learn.”

Bill grinned at him. “I have dinner once a week with a mated Alpha/Omega pair, and from what I’ve picked up, as long as you have a decent one, and you do, it’ll be worth it.”

“Okay,” Lex said. He filled a second glass. “I really appreciate you putting up with us, Bill. I mean, we know hardly anyone here and barely know you, but you’ve been great.”

Bill was moving around the kitchen, awkwardly--Lex hadn’t noticed his state, and Bill was glad for that. He turned to face the counters, hoping Lex would leave soon. “You’re welcome. I was kind of lonely, so I’m glad of the company.” _Or I will be in a few days._

Lex waved vaguely to him and padded back to the bedroom. It didn’t make things any easier on Bill, but it did mean he didn’t have to go to any special effort to hide his erection.

He packed up some food, dashed into his bedroom for some clothes and got out of the apartment as quickly as he could. He wondered how loudly Jimmy would laugh at him if he explained why he needed to use the guest room for a little while before he went back on shift. An obvious tent in his trousers was not going to help his authority.

Fuck it! He’d chance it. Not like his partner didn’t owe him anyway.

***

Lex went back to the bedroom and Griff. He hadn’t been as oblivious to Bill’s discomfort as he’d led on, but he hadn’t seen any point in drawing attention to it.

Griff was still sleeping, but as soon as Lex entered the room, he sat up, wincing as he did so. “Alpha!”

Lex restrained an eyeroll. So Bill had been correct. “It’s fine, Griff. Bill was in the kitchen, and he’d probably been at the station with Jimmy. I’m sure you’re just smelling Jimmy.”

Griff sniffed the air and settled back. “Yes. Is that.”

Lex sat on the bed and handed a glass to Griff. “Drink up. Need to keep you hydrated to heal.”

Griff drank down the water, put down the glass and reached out. “Come here.”

Lex gulped down his water and gladly settled in Griff’s arms, finally feeling confident enough to scent his mate without asking for permission first. He nuzzled Griff’s neck, and his mate hummed in approval.

“Can do that whenever you want,” Griff said, nuzzling back.

He definitely liked hearing that. He’d never considered how good it was to scent an Alpha. Griff smelled so good, and he thought he could lie there all day, just drinking it in. Griff reached between them, and gently and unhurriedly brought him to climax. Yes, that was good too. He wanted Griff could heal so he could have his knot, but for now, this was enough.

They cuddled afterwards, and Lex saw what Bill had meant. Griff obviously didn’t want to let him go, and Lex was fine with it.

Lex found himself drifting off until he felt a hitching breath and an unhappy scent from Griff. He was instantly awake. “Griff? Are you crying?” He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen the Alpha cry.

He turned just in time to see Griff wiping tears from his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

He knew Griff’s expressions well enough by now to see he didn’t want to talk about it. “Griff? It’s okay. You can tell me.”

Griff took a deep breath. “Is something I didn’t tell you. Should have before I mated you.”

Lex suspected he should be nervous, but considering they had survived Griff revealing that he had the Evil Gene, he supposed they could survive anything. “Go ahead. I’m sure I can take it.”

“I’m sterile. Was one of the things they did to me. Can’t give you kids. Should have told you.”

Relief flowed through Lex. He felt bad for Griff because it was obviously important to him, but Lex didn’t care that much. He carefully hugged Griff and said, “That’s fine. Don’t worry about it. I never really wanted kids.” His mom had been a female Omega, and for some reason, even though it was totally normal and he had the channel to deliver a kid, the thought of going through pregnancy and childbirth weirded him out a bit.

Griff pulled back enough to look at him. “Don’t?”

Lex shook his head. “Nope. I mean I never really thought about mating before, so I honestly never thought about being a parent.”

“But now you have Alpha. Might change your mind.”

Griff sounded so miserable that Lex couldn’t help leaning forward to kiss him. “In the unlikely event that happens, we can always adopt.” He grew sad. “There are probably going to be a lot of kids without parents. It might be the right thing to do that anyway.”

“You be okay with that?” Griff asked, his tone sounding hopeful.

Lex tilted his head in question. “Sure, I would be. I mean, I guess. Like I said I never gave it much thought. But I could do that, I think. Once I had some time to get used to the idea. Why? You want kids?”

Griff’s gaze dropped to the bed. “Yes. Had no choice with sterilization. Cried afterwards. When no one could see.”

Lex’s heart broke a little at the thought of Griff crying alone after surgery. He drew him close. “So cry now. I’ll hold you.”

To his surprise, Griff did so. Another Alpha myth busted. He’d been convinced Alphas never cried. Lex stroked Griff’s hair and said, “When things settle a bit, we’ll find us a kid to adopt. I’ll probably be a terrible parent, but I think you’d be great. I mean, look how you’ve been with me.”

“Except for trying to push you away,” Griff said between quiet sobs.

Lex gave a small chuckle. “Well, yeah. Except for that. But we survived it. Not much we can’t survive after that, I’m thinking.”

Griff pressed his head into Lex’s chest, and they stayed like that for a long time. Considering Griff had been doing all the comforting until now, Lex was glad to have a chance to return the favor.


	13. October 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Scrolling Kingfisher who wrote some of the action in this chapter. And did a GREAT JOB!

Three days later, Griff was basically healed and mostly willing to let Lex be around others, although he made it clear that Lex was riding with him to Aurora. Lex was amused but didn’t say anything, having had several days to learn that Griff had a sense of humor about many things, but his role as an Alpha wasn’t one of them.

Bill drove his SUV. Stanley drove his truck. Which meant Lex and Griff got an old red truck which had been unaffected by the EMP. Griff volunteered to drive, and Lex was fine with it. Trucks were not his thing. He already missed his motorcycle and was certain he was only going to miss it more as time went on.

He was also mildly surprised at how many weapons they were taking. Bill had his service pistol, a rifle and a shotgun. Stanley had a shotgun and a rifle. Griff took the rifle he’d picked up in Strasburg and had accepted a pistol but had refused a shotgun, saying they’d never been one of his good weapons. He’d asked about a knife, though, and Bill had found him a good one, long and with a hefty guard to protect his hand.

Griff had given Lex his shotgun and had given him a quick but thorough lesson in how to use it, promising that when they got back, “he’d improve his marksmanship with a rifle.” Lex sensed this was going to be a point of pride for his mate.

When he’d asked, Bill had informed Lex that the pack they’d encountered was hardly the only pack of ferals that had been in the area. “You two were lucky. They’ve killed at least ten Jericho residents so far. You took down one pack, but we’ve seen two others.”

Lex had supposed the deputy knew what he was talking about, but, even though he’d been taught to use firearms, they didn’t make him comfortable. He’d done his “fighting” with a computer. However, he knew he’d need to make adjustments in his thinking. While he thought he could make use of his tech skills in this new world, he couldn’t deny that firearms were useful.

They hadn’t talked much during the drive, which had gone surprisingly smoothly. Lex had goggled at the manual transmission. He’d forgotten that the gear shift used to be on the steering wheel instead of on the floor. He’d also been surprised at how well they’d managed a fairly steady speed. Lex had expected there to be more cars on the highway.

“That’s right,” Griff said when he asked. “You were blind for most of the trip.”

Lex didn’t like the reminder. Every morning, he still went through a momentary panic that his sight would be gone again.

“Not many on this road,” was all Griff could say while he was driving.

However, when they made a brief stop to shift a couple of cars that were blocking the road, the first they had seen so far, he signed a more complete explanation. Both Bill and Stanley paid attention since Griff was the only one who had practical experience with the route.

_There aren’t many cars abandoned on this highway. Probably because so many people were killed by the Denver bomb, and the people who survived went to Cheyenne. It’s closer than anything in Kansas. Other highways would be a different story._

“So you don’t think we’ll hit major slowdowns?” Bill asked.

Griff shook his head. _If I remember correctly, only a couple more. I looked at where the warehouse is on Lex’s phone._

Lex had determined that GPS satellites were still active, and his phone navigation and mapping software worked just fine.

_It’s on the outskirts of town, and we shouldn’t hit too many pile-ups on our way._

“When do we need to take those pills you have, Griff?” Stanley asked.

Lex had been pleased at how well Griff and Stanley worked together. It didn’t hurt that Stanley gave off no vibes of being interested in Lex and had accepted him as a fully functional member of this expedition. Lex wasn’t looking forward to the first time Griff saw a display like the encounter he’d had with Marshall.

_Maybe twenty miles from Aurora?_

Lex pulled out his phone and made sure it would remind them when they got to that point. Bill watched what he was doing and nodded in approval.

They resumed their journey. Lex watched the scenery go by for a few miles but realized he missed the near constant contact he’d had with his mate for the last few days. He shifted over on the bench seat and lay his head on Griff’s shoulder. Griff put an arm around him, and Lex settled closer, closing his eyes and dozing comfortably, surrounded by the scent of Griff.

***

They needed to move cars two more times before they reached the point where Lex’s phone told them it was time to take pills.

Griff had enjoyed having Lex snuggled up against him and had been glad the old truck’s seat had allowed it.

He had been leading the small caravan and pulled over when Lex’s phone started beeping at them. He handed out the pills, and everyone swallowed them, expression solemn. They all knew they were about to enter a dangerous zone.

“How long do we have again, Griff?” Bill asked.

“Six hours definitely. Can stretch to eight.”

“But no longer?” Bill confirmed.

Griff shook his head. He’d been well trained in this by his handlers.

Not able to resist the impulse, he reached out to pull Lex close. He knew they needed the Omega’s skills, but he hated the idea of taking him into danger.

“I’ll be fine, Griff,” Lex said. His scent was steady and confident. A far cry from what it had been the last time they’d been here.

“I know,” he made himself say.

Bill gave him a knowing sidelong glance. Stanley just looked ahead where they could all see the Denver skyline in the distance. Griff noted the usual pollution haze over the city was gone. The sky was a perfect cloudless fall blue. Deceptively gorgeous. It would be a long time before the city would be habitable.

“We’re wasting time,” Bill said, gruffly. “Let’s get going.”

They got back in their vehicles and started again, Lex’s phone guiding them. They needed to move two more car pile-ups before they arrived at the warehouse. Griff wasn’t happy that it had taken them well over an hour. More than four hours should be enough to do what was needed, but he’d have been happier if they’d made better time.

They got out of their trucks, and Lex started for the smaller side door into the facility.

Griff grabbed his arm before he’d gone more than a few steps. “Caution, Lex. Make sure no one has set trap or waiting for us.”

Bill had his pistol out and his head was raised, testing the air. Stanley was covering him with his rifle. Lex nodded and went back to the truck for his shotgun, which he had left behind. Griff shook his head. He’d need to work with him on that. Lex didn’t have quite the right instincts for this changed world.

Griff took a few careful sniffs too, and he listened. Nothing was setting off his danger instincts, but he didn’t trust this place. Lex had made a good point. Because of the proximity to Denver and the bomb, this warehouse wasn’t likely to have been looted, but Griff was still alive because he took precautions. Watching Bill, he knew the deputy thought similarly.

“I think it’s okay,” Bill finally said. “Griff? What do you think?”

Griff nodded. “Agree.”

“I smell feral, but it’s old,” Bill added. “I don’t think they are nearby.”

“Agree,” Griff said again. He’d smelled the same thing and knew the scent was at least a week old. He idly wondered if the gene gave them some protection from radiation. It made them hardier in other ways. It would be just their luck that ferals could survive an apocalypse.

“We’re wasting time,” Stanley pointed out.

“True,” Bill said. “But it’s better to be cautious. If we run out of time to grab stuff, at least we’ll be alive. If we walk into a trap, we’ll be dead.”

Griff started for the door, and Lex followed him. The Alpha was glad to see Lex had his shotgun raised and appeared ready to use it if needed.

When they got to the door, Griff started to test it. Now it was time for Lex to pull his hand back. “If you’re worried about traps, let me check.”

Griff pulled his hand back and let Lex do whatever he did with his phone. He didn’t understand it and didn’t feel any need to learn. He believed in letting experts do their thing.

It didn’t take long for Lex to pronounce the door safe. Bill motioned them all to step back and he shot out the lock.

“I thought that only worked in movies,” Lex said.

Bill shrugged, his expression slightly sheepish. “I’ve always wanted to try it. Not like anyone’s going to show up and arrest us.”

Griff stifled a laugh and reached out to open the door. He was trained for this and automatically took the lead. He was pleased to note that the other three fell in behind him without needing to be told.

They each had a powerful flashlight and turned them on as soon as they entered the building. Griff had never been in a warehouse like this before, and he couldn’t help gawking for a moment at the tall shelves, packed with all manner of things.

“Are we safe enough, Griff?” Lex asked. His tone was focused and professional, just as it had been when he’d disarmed the tracker.

Griff, Bill and even Stanley all raised their heads in unison. A moment later, all three of them nodded.

“I don’t smell any ferals or anyone else,” Stanley said.

Bill was nodding in the circle of illumination from his flashlight. “Same. I think we’re good.”

“Stanley, keep watch near the door,” Griff said. “At least for now.”

Stanley took a step back and stood where he could see out but someone approaching would have a hard time seeing him. He also turned off his flashlight. Griff was happy to see he knew some basic precautions.

Lex was walking down the aisles, flashlight moving back and forth. Griff hurried to catch up to him. “What looking for?” he asked.

“Trying to figure out the system they’ve used to organize this place. If we take a few minutes to figure that out, we’ll be more efficient at getting what we need.”

That made sense to Griff. “What I do?”

“How about if you and Bill find dollies or something to help us move stuff out of here?”

“Can do that.”

Bill had come up beside them, and they both headed off. It didn’t take long to find some large carts.

“I think these will work,” Bill said.

“Yes.”

Lex approached them. “Okay. I think I’ve figured out the system. At least well enough to get what we need.” He pointed off to their left. “Food is that way. Bill? You want to load up one of these with packaged stuff. Nutrition bars and the like are good and pack small and light.”

“Protein bars and pouched meat, please,” Griff said. He figured while they were here, they might as well get things to fit his nutritional needs.

“Plus bags of rice, flour and anything else we can use to make food for groups,” Lex added.

Bill nodded. “Got it.” He took his cart and went in the direction Lex had indicated. Griff was confident he’d get the right sort of things.

“Me?” he asked.

Lex gently touched his shoulder and indicated he should go in the opposite direction. “You’re with me. I need someone to read me what my phone is telling me.”

Griff nodded and followed along. He was just as happy to stay near his mate.

Lex led them to a shelf full of what looked to be radios, phones and the like.

“I’m tempted by some of the phones, even though the cell towers are down. I might be able to reprogram them to work with signal repeaters, and we’d have a sort of local cell network.”

“Sounds good,” Griff said.

“Huh,” Lex said. “All right then. Grab me about ten phones then. He paused. “Heck, make it twenty. Enough for deputies, the mayor and someone at the hospital. I might be able to program and install some useful apps too.”

Griff leaned over to kiss Lex on the cheek. “You can do all that.”

Lex’s scent changed from focused to pleased. Griff smiled.

He followed instructions and started gathering phones.

“Go for the Android phones,” Lex said, absently as he pawed through a pile of radios. “They are easy to customize.”

Griff counted out twenty and put them on his cart.

Lex was ripping open the package holding a radio. “Okay, here’s where I need you.” He handed Griff a radio.

Griff took it and making an assumption, powered it on. When the reassuring green light came on, he smiled, happy to see that it had a small charge and apparently hadn’t been fried by the EMP.

“That’s good,” Lex said, leaning over his shoulder. “They do work.”

“Knew you were right.”

The pleased scent increased, but Lex remained focused. He handed his phone to Griff. “Okay. I need to verify the frequency so I can cobble together some base stations and repeaters.”

Griff knew which app to open and did so.

Lex played with the radio, and Griff read off numbers as they displayed. After a few minutes, Lex nodded, seemingly satisfied. “Okay. I can work with this.”

Griff started taking radios as Lex handed them over. He also took the various other boxes and things his mate handed him. Soon his cart was stuffed full of electronics and even a few portable generators.

“That should do it,’ Lex said, regarding the cart, satisfaction in his scent. “After I have some time to work with all that, we should have working communications. It won’t be fancy and will probably break constantly, but it’ll work.”

“And you fix when needed?”

Lex laughed. “Yes, of course I’ll fix it. I’ll probably be the one breaking it most of the time, pushing the system to its limit.”

“You broke. You fix,” Griff said with a grin. He liked seeing his mate so happy and feeling useful. This was not the scared, blind Omega he had pulled from the wreckage of a nearby building about a month ago.

Griff pushed the cart to the door. Bill met them on their way. “I think I got us everything we need,” he said, straining to push the overloaded cart.

Lex stepped over to help him, running his eyes over what Bill had gathered. “That looks good.”

“That was my fourth run,” Bill said. “I think we’ll just about fill the trucks with what we have. Maybe I can make one more, but they are getting pretty full by now.”

Griff took a quick look at the cart and noticed pouches of tuna and chicken. His stomach growled.

Lex stopped pushing long enough to reach out and pat Griff’s shoulder. “We’ll get you something to eat.”

Bill was grinning. “Plenty more where that came from. We couldn’t fit everything in the trucks if we tried.”

“Good,” was all Griff said, feeling slightly embarrassed that everyone was noticing his hunger.

As they approached the door and Stanley, the big blond man threw up a hand. “Wait,” he said in a stage-whispered hiss. “Think we have company.”

Griff let go of the handle of his cart and shifted his rifle from his back to firing position. He was glad to see Lex getting his shotgun into position almost as quickly. Bill’s rifle appeared in his hands as if by magic.

“What do you see?” Bill asked, keeping his voice low.

“It’s not what I’m seeing,” Stanley said.

“It’s what you’re smelling,” Lex said, a faint tremor of fear in his voice.

Now Griff smelled it too. Ferals. Several of them, from the strength of the reek wafting into the warehouse. He took a deeper breath and didn’t like what he sensed. “They sick. Radiation poisoning, I think.”

“Too sick to fight?” Bill asked, his tone hopeful.

“Don’t think so. Think it just makes them madder.”

“Great,” Stanley said. “As if they aren’t dangerous enough normally.”

“We don’t want to fight them in here,” Bill said. “Move outside. Protect the merchandise.”

Griff agreed. He thought they had a little time before the ferals got here. Stanley had a good nose.

“Lex, with me,” he said. “We go left. To the parked vans out there.”

Bill was nodding. “Stanley and I will go right. There were some pallets out there that should give us cover.”

“Right,” Griff said.

He started walking for the door, Lex right on his heels but far enough back that Griff had room to maneuver. Someone had taught him a few things.

Stanley and Bill went out first, ducking to the right as soon as they cleared the doorway. Griff walked to the door, stopping and holding up his hand for Lex to wait. He wasn’t going to lead his mate into an ambush if he could help it.

The stink of feral lay heavy in the air, but Griff knew they weren’t quite to the warehouse. “Follow me,” he said and stepped outside, crouched down and moving fast. He heard Lex moving just behind him.

They made it to the three vans Griff had remembered. He and Lex crouched down behind them, Lex peeking to the left while Griff was looking to the right. He glanced over to the pallets where Bill and Stanley were positioning themselves. He nodded. They were covering half the parking lot. For the moment, he could let them take care of themselves and focus on himself and Lex.

Feral smell came closer and grew almost overwhelming. Griff watched through the gap between two trucks. Five appeared in his field of vision. Damn! That was a lot, although he and Lex had taken down that many, and this time they had backup.

Two shots rang out from behind the pallets. One missed while the other took down a feral with a shot straight through his chest.

Griff couldn’t say for certain, but he thought the shot that hit had been fired by Bill. He took aim, fired and took down one more. Two more shots came from the pallets. Both hit. Griff took down the last one, and he heard a quiet “Yes!” from Lex.

Griff didn’t relax, though. He knew there were more. Many more.

A few seconds later, close to a dozen ferals came into view. All three of them fired, and took down a few, but the rest ducked for what little cover existed. Griff knew there were at least five more.

He saw movement but couldn’t get a good firing angle. Then he realized the ferals had split up. One was coming in the direction of the trucks. The others were heading for the pallets.

Shit! He wasn’t sure Bill and Stanley could handle that many if they closed to hand to hand range. Stanley was big and an Alpha, but he didn’t look trained in close quarters fighting. Bill probably was, but he was on the small side and a Beta.

Griff had the best chance of dealing with them, but that meant leaving Lex to handle a feral alone.

He glanced over at his mate, who was motioning him to go. Apparently, Lex had made the same calculations. Every instinct screamed at him to _protect his mate_ but the logical side of him knew he could do that best by helping Bill and Stanley. His emotions didn’t agree.

However, he nodded at Lex and motioned to where the single feral was creeping their way. Lex nodded back and hefted his shotgun.

Two shots rang out from the pallets. Griff didn’t see anyone fall. This was definitely on him.

He slung his rifle on his back and drew his knife. This was going to get messy, but it was what he had trained for. He consciously changed his scent to _don’t mess with me, I know what I’m doing Alpha_. That was a big part of what Bill and Stanley couldn’t do. Bill because he was Beta. Stanley because he wasn’t trained.

The stereotype was that Omegas were controlled by their biology and instincts while Alphas were always _in_ control. Griff knew that for the myth it was. If you were a trained Alpha, you could use pheromones and body language to posture and convince other Alphas that you were bigger and badder than they were.

As he stepped out from behind the trucks, Griff adjusted his stride to what one of his trainers referred to as a “murder walk”: long loose confident steps modeled after a hunting cat. The four ferals who had been approaching Bill and Stanley paused to face him. All of them raised their heads to catch his scent. Griff amped up what he was putting out.

The fifth was still heading toward Lex, and Griff couldn’t do anything about it. If he paid attention to the lone feral, the other four would jump him. He had to trust Lex to take care of himself.

A rifle shot rang out and took down one of the ferals. Griff had to admire the marksmanship. While he was positioned to see them clearly, Bill--he supposed it was the deputy--had an awkward firing angle but had made the shot anyway.

That was the cue for the other three to charge him. Griff crouched low, knife held in an icepick grip. Many knife fighters considered it the grip of an amateur, but Griff was quick, agile and trained in its use. His instructor had demonstrated its flexibility, and it was Griff’s preferred grip.

It was also a bluff. One of the ferals had a knife, and Griff hoped he would assume Griff was untrained. He thought it had worked. The man’s gaze flicked to his knife before returning to Griff’s eyes. A smile flashed across his face briefly.

One feral was unarmed. Griff could safely ignore him for a bit. He could stand up to a lot of hitting. As long as he could stay out of grabbing range, an unarmed man, even a feral, was little threat to him.

The last feral was wielding a baseball bat wrapped with barbed wire. Griff suppressed an eyeroll. Guy had watched too much _Walking Dead_. He decided Bat Guy was his first target.

Before they had quite closed with him, Griff danced into position, moving quickly on the balls of his feet. Bat Guy was slightly in the lead, the other reason to attack him first. Griff went low, seeing that Bat Guy was positioned to swing high. He moved in close, knowing the bat would be awkward to maneuver to hit him at that range. Griff slashed at the feral’s stomach, easily slicing him open. Intestines spilled out and slithered to the ground. The scent of shit filled the air, almost covering up acrid feral stink.

Griff backpedaled, not wanting to be in range when the other two came after him.

He heard a shotgun blast go off behind him followed by a scream and the thud of a falling body. The scream wasn’t Lex, and Griff was relieved. His mate had taken down the one approaching him.

Now he could get his head completely into the fight with the other two. Unarmed Guy charged him, head down, shoulder forward. Huh. Former football player. Easy enough. Griff let him commit himself before dancing aside at the last moment. He wasn’t in position to use his knife, but he easily dodged the attempted tackle.

Knife Guy came up on his left side and slashed at Griff, who managed to dodge the attack at the last moment. He’d handled two on one before, but it was difficult, and he ran the risk of moving in the wrong direction at exactly the wrong time and getting hit.

He took several quick steps backwards, trying to put some distance between himself and his two attackers. He hoped to get into position to get them tangled up and in each other’s way.

Just then Bill and Stanley emerged from cover and, together, tackled Unarmed Guy. Griff smiled, glad for the help. Ferals were strong, and he wasn’t sure they’d hold him for long, but if they could keep him busy long enough for him to finish off Knife Guy, this fight would be over.

He charged Knife Guy, who had his feet set and was ready for him. They circled, feinting and dodging, getting each other’s measure. What Knife Guy didn’t know was that Griff was underplaying his skill. He wanted the feral to underestimate him and make a mistake. Finally, it happened. Knife Guy lunged in to slash at Griff’s belly. He miscalculated and was just a little off balance. Griff used the opportunity. He jumped out of the way, quick and nimble on his feet, and drew back his fist to deliver a slamming punch into the man’s exposed side. He felt the sick crack of breaking bones as his knuckles hit the man’s ribs.

The feral gave a ferocious snarl and staggered, trying to recover his balance, but they both knew his grip on the knife was off. He was listing to the side, his breathing heavier. Griff bared his teeth and pressed his advantage, driving the feral back against the vans, slowly now. He couldn’t afford to take a risk. The feral lashed out more and more desperately, but Griff was dodging his wild sweeps easily now, scoring a multitude of smaller cuts and blows until the feral’s back was pressed against the side of the van.

The reek of him was almost unbearable up close, the already bitter acrid scent curdled even further with pain and rage. A trickle of blood was slowly tracking out of his mouth, and now that Griff was closer, he could hear the crackle in his breathing that spoke of a punctured lung. But despite all that, the feral wasn’t done. His eyes narrowed. A spike in his scent was all the warning Griff got.

With a gurgling scream, the feral lunged.

For all his lack of training, the man was incredibly fast. Griff barely had time to knock the knife out of his leading hand and hear Lex yell his name before the man was on him, a sweating, stinking weight. He might have been unarmed, but he was bigger than Griff, and inhumanly strong. Nails raked at exposed skin. His breath washed rank and fetid over Griff’s face, teeth flashing. Griff snarled back, swinging his knife out with blind precision.

The knife bit into flesh, grated to a halt between bones. The feral convulsed, and Griff winced as the death throes dug the man’s jagged nails further into his soft flesh. He watched as the eye closest to him rolled slowly back into the man’s head, the body draped over his slowly twitching into stillness.

Griff shoved the dead weight off him with a grunt, pulling the knife from between the vertebrae of the feral’s neck and wiping it on his coat before turning to face the others.

To his surprise, Bill and Stanley had already finished off the unarmed feral. Griff moved towards them at a quick half-trot, skirting bodies. He was still feeling twitchy. Adrenaline was rarely an advantage in a fight he knew, but his body’s instinctual responses were difficult to repress. He cast his eye quickly over their little group as he approached. “Everybody okay?”

Bill straightened up, smiling grimly, and Griff was relieved to realize that the blood smeared across his arm wasn’t his own. “All good. We’ll go get the goods- will you two stay here and make sure we don’t have any more unwanted visitors?”

Griff nodded. After the ferals they’d just taken out, he doubted there would be anything else in the area, but it never hurt to be cautious.

When Griff turned, Lex was there, scowling at him and smelling of worry. Griff smiled, trying to reassure him, but Lex grabbed his hand, pulling his arm out to inspect the long, bloody scratches that had been gouged into his skin. He grimaced at the sight.

“I was gonna shoot him, but he was too close to you.”

“Doesn’t matter.” Griff consoled him. “I’m fine. Anyway, you took down two of them, I saw you. You’re getting better with that shotgun.”

Lex didn’t look convinced, but he let himself be drawn into Griff’s arms, hooking his chin over Griff’s shoulder to scent him. Griff grinned, letting himself be enfolded in Lex’s arms in return.

Just as he did, something caught his eye.

There was a tiny glint of silver from the corner of the warehouse. A glint where there shouldn’t be a glint.

Griff was turning them before he even thought about it. He spun them as he dropped them both to the floor, Lex’s yelp loud in his ear, grimacing as they hit the ground with a bruising jolt. A second later he was up again, dragging them both out of the firing line behind the crates. That should give them some cover. And his reactions hadn’t been a moment too soon.

“Ow!” Lex pulled away, hand going to his own shoulder, coming back red. The sharp, coppery, wrong scent of his mate’s blood filled Griff’s nostrils. In a panic, he pulled Lex closer, scrabbling at the rip on his clothing to inspect the wound, then sighed in relief. Just a scratch, bloody but not serious.

That had been too close.

“What the hell was _that_?” Lex asked him.

Griff looked around, spotting the object that had hit Lex lying on the asphalt a few meters away, gleaming malevolently. “There.”

“Is that a _throwing knife_? Are they serious? Ah!”

There was a metallic _ting!_ as another knife glanced off a metal barrel just above their heads. They both ducked, and then Griff was scrambling, pushing Lex further behind the crates. “Stay here! Stay down!”

Lex nodded, tight-lipped, swinging his gun off his back and gripping it tight.

Griff turned back towards the end of the crate. Still hunkered down behind it, he carefully sniffed the air. He needed to pinpoint exactly where the feral was, and to do that, he had to draw some fire.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the next crate over, and ran.

There was a sharp _whoosh_ as a blade whisked past his ear. He heard Lex yell behind him, but he was already diving back behind cover.

His heart pounding, he crouched behind the next crate, grinning. He knew where they were. He had glimpsed the direction the knife had been coming from as it went flashing past. Now all he had to do was bait the feral until he ran out of knives or he was in a better position for Lex to take a shot, and-

There was movement, advancing rapidly across the parking lot. Griff squinted. Why had the feral broken cover? Had he run out of knives? No, there was a glint clutched in his fist as he sprinted, teeth bared.

Right towards where Lex was hiding.

Griff didn’t think this time. Suddenly he was on his feet and moving. All his careful training went out of the window as he leapt between the threat and his mate. He collided heavily with the feral and they rolled over and over, grappling for dominance. There was no parrying or dodging this time, and posturing was no use to him in this sort of fight. Griff rolled them again, getting the feral in a headlock. The man snarled, thrashing, unable to reach him with the knife, but then one bony elbow found its target and Griff’s breath was driven out of his lungs. The feral wriggled out of his grip, twisting, and Griff saw his arm lash upwards, the blade gleaming as it started to descend towards him-

BANG!

Griff rolled out of the way, his ears ringing, but it was already over. The feral was limp, arms out-flung, a starburst spatter of blood and brains against the concrete haloing his head. Lex stood over them, still breathing heavily. His fingers were still gripping so tight to the stock of the gun that his knuckles were white.

There were raised voices behind them, Bill and Stanley obviously having heard the commotion and come out of the warehouse, but Griff was focused on his mate. “Good shot.”

“He was right in front of me,” Lex said, and Griff thought he was probably the only one who could detect the slight tremor in his tone. “Not like it was easy to miss.”

Griff let out his breath, forcing his limbs to relax for a second before he went about pushing himself upright. “Come on, we should look at that shoulder.”

“What are you planning to do, kiss it better?” Lex scoffed but then hissed as Griff gently drew the torn fabric away from the wound. The muscles were still tense and trembling under his hands. Griff was relieved to see that the gash had stopped bleeding already, the only evidence a thin red line and the dried blood crusted around it.

“Maybe I was,” Griff grinned at him. Lex rolled his eyes. “But maybe kiss you instead.”

He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of Lex’s mouth, smiling as Lex turned into it and deepened the kiss. Finally, Lex relaxed under his hands. The biting smell of adrenaline faded a little.

“Come on, you two. We should be getting out of here.”

Griff broke the kiss to see Bill watching them, tapping his foot.

Lex didn’t move from under his hands. “Give us a minute, Bill? Thought I was going to lose my mate for a bit there,”

Griff stifled a laugh. This was _definitely_ not a shy Omega.

Bill grinned at them. “All right. But Stanley and I aren’t going to load the trucks all by ourselves.”

Lex gave him a wave. “Be there in a minute.”

Then he leaned in for another kiss. Griff enjoyed it but didn’t let it go on too long. They _did_ have a time limit.

With the four of them working, it didn’t take too long to load the trucks. They discovered a little more room, which they quickly filled with more food and some Gatorade that Bill found tucked on a bottom shelf. As Griff regarded the trucks, trying to decide if they could rearrange to make more room, Lex handed him two protein bars and a pouch of tuna.

“Here. Eat. I could hear your stomach growling from the warehouse.”

Griff took them, having forgotten his hunger in the fight and aftermath. Now that he was reminded, his stomach cramped painfully, and he ripped into one of the protein bars, wolfing it down in two bites. He consumed the rest of the food at a more measured pace but was still finished before Bill proclaimed the trucks as packed as they could get them.

“Let’s get out of here,” Bill said, hopping into his truck.

The other three all got into their respective vehicles, Griff again driving.

“Time?” Griff asked.

“We’re good. Thirty minutes from the end of the safest zone.”

Griff nodded. So still two and a half hours before they really needed to worry. Plenty of time, assuming they didn’t run into any complications.


	14. October 26, continued

They made it out of the hot zone with no further problems. Lex didn’t want to relax until they made it back to Jericho, but he did fret a little less, knowing the risk of them dying of radiation poisoning was no longer an issue.

“Did good back there,” Griff said as he reached out with his free arm, inviting Lex to sit closer to him.

Lex accepted and settled himself against his mate. “Thanks. I was afraid I’d lose you back there when you went three on one.”

Griff smiled. “Trained for that. They weren’t. ”

Lex suddenly felt shy about what he wanted to say next. Then he decided to just go with it. “You’re hot when you fight.”

Griff chuckled, the sound rumbling against Lex’s side. “Can teach you hand-to-hand.”

Lex smiled, glad his mate was pleased. “Will you land on top of me a lot?”

“Of course.”

Lex liked the sound of that. “Don’t know how much learning I’ll get done, but I like the idea.”

“You’ll learn too,” Griff assured him. “No fucking until you learn the lesson.”

Lex shivered a bit at the thought. He supposed he would.

They continued driving; this time Bill and Stanley led the little caravan. Lex was starting to doze again when Griff slammed on the brakes, and the truck shuddered to a halt. Lex was instantly awake and sitting up, hand moving for his shotgun. “What happened?”

Griff pointed, but before Lex could look where he was pointing, he heard gunfire.

“Get down,” Griff barked, pushing Lex down on his seat.

“Who’s firing on us?”

“Not sure yet.” Griff opened his door and got out. Lex watched him crouch down, using the driver’s side door for cover. “Maybe road gang. Blocked the road to slow us down.”

He started to open his own door, but the sound of a rifle had Lex ducking his head back below the dashboard.

“Was Bill,” Griff said. He fired his own rifle. “Two down.”

“How many to go?” Lex knew his shotgun was the wrong weapon here, unless the gang members got closer. He hoped Bill and Griff would either kill them or drive them off first. And promptly hated himself for the thought. He needed to learn to protect himself and help Griff. If they got out of this alive, he was going to learn both hand-to-hand and rifle.

“Maybe five.”

Another rifle shot. Lex thought it was from their side.

“Four.”

“What can I do?”

Griff fired again. “Shit.”

Lex thought that meant he’d missed.

“Get out and watch flank.”

Lex could do that. He opened his door and peered out. A bullet hit the ground just in front of him, spraying dirt in his eye and making him blink.

“Wait.”

Lex glanced over his shoulder, saw Griff  _ stand up and face the passenger side of the car. _ What the fuck? Lex thought that was an excellent way to get killed. Griff fired. Lex heard someone scream.

“Can get out now,” Griff said before turning to face the other direction.

Right. Lex cautiously got out and crouched behind his door, glancing in every direction. He didn’t see anyone. His heart pounded, and he really wanted to get back into the dubious safety of the truck. But he had done his part at the warehouse. He could do this too.

Gunfire sounded from in front of their truck. It was hard to tell, but Lex thought it was an exchange between Bill/Stanley and whoever had attacked them. Griff added his own fire to the mix.

He heard the scrape of a shoe on gravel, coming from behind him. He whirled. A man was just standing up from a crouch. Lex thought he had come up from the ditch beside the road, probably trying to flank them. His nose told him it was an Alpha, but not a feral. A part of him knew it wasn’t relevant information. The guy was raising a rifle, but Lex was just a bit faster. He fired both barrels of his shotgun, and the guy went down. Lex swore at himself. He could have fired just one. Rookie mistake. Hastily, he pawed in his pocket for more shells and reloaded.

Fortunately, there wasn’t a second guy. A moment later, Griff said, “Clear. They’re running.”

Lex heard a shout from Bill. “It’s okay now!”

Cautiously, Lex stood up, hoping both men were right. He peered over the hood of the truck and saw three men running through the field. Bill and Stanley were both aiming in their direction but holding their fire.

“Stupid. Should shoot them. Make trouble later.”

Lex walked around to the driver’s side of the truck where Griff was watching the men. He’d lowered his rifle, but Lex could smell spiky anger coming off of him. He put a hand on his mate’s shoulder and squeezed. “Assassin instincts. And good ones, but Bill is a deputy.” He couldn’t quite believe he was speaking so comfortably about Griff being an assassin.

From the raised eyebrow he got back in return, he realized he wasn’t the only one.

Lex shrugged. “It’s what you were. Well, I guess it’s still what you are. The skills are useful in this new world.”

Griff shrugged his shoulder under Lex’s hand in acknowledgement.

Bill and Stanley came jogging up. “Kind of surprised we didn’t encounter one of those on the way out,” Bill said as he approached. “Lucky, I guess.”

“Are they common out here?” Lex asked. “Road gangs?”

“Somewhat,” Bill answered. “Closer to Jericho, we have sort of a local one. Jonas keeps any others away. But farther from Jericho? Yeah. We’d heard there were a number of them.”

“Should get back,” Griff said. “Before any others.”

Bill nodded. “Good shooting there, Griff.”

The Alpha inclined his head in acknowledgement and climbed back into the truck. Lex got in on his side, and the small caravan started again.

“Good job,” Griff said. “With the guy flanking us.”

Lex felt warm at the praise but still said, “I need to learn to shoot a rifle. We were lucky he got so close before trying anything. Otherwise, he would have been out of range.”

Griff reached out to pull him close. “True. Still. Well done.”

Lex settled closer, his head on Griff’s shoulder, hoping he’d be able to stay there the rest of the trip.

***

They encountered no other gangs or ferals on their drive back. They drove directly to the Green farm, not wanting to get mobbed. Food was already getting scarce enough that Johnston had worried they’d have trouble if anyone saw the trucks.

Bill hadn’t liked the idea of hiding it, but Johnston had been insistent and had won the point. Lex and Griff had differed in their opinions, with Lex siding with Bill and Griff siding with the Mayor.

They unloaded everything into the barn except for the electronics, which Bill said he’d take down to the Town Hall and set up in one of the empty conference rooms. Lex had grabbed a few small generators which were more than enough to power the things he was going to be running.

As they unloaded food, Lex put aside a small pile of tuna packets and protein bars and started to carry them to the truck he and Griff had been driving.

“What are those for?” Stanley asked.

“For Griff,” Lex replied.

“Hey! Wait a minute!” Stanley protested. “Why are you taking extra?”

Griff was about to say that it was fine, and he didn’t need anything special, but before he could even open his mouth, Lex had walked right up into Stanley’s personal space and started in on him.

“He needs extra protein.” Lex waved an arm in Griff’s direction. “Look how thin he is! The travel here almost killed him. And he’s still healing from that first fight with ferals. And he basically saved your ass back there today. Plus, we wouldn’t even  _ have _ this food if it weren’t for us, so I think we’re entitled to a little extra.”

Griff had to suppress a laugh at the sight of his Omega laying into the much taller man. He heard something suspiciously like a muffled chuckle from Bill’s direction.

Stanley actually took one step back and held up his hands. “Okay. Okay. My bad. Sorry. I didn’t realize.” The tall man’s gaze travelled to Griff, and he looked him up and down. “Yeah. Now that you mention it, you do look thin, man.” He screwed up his face in thought. “Might be able to bring a few eggs your way.”

“Uh, thanks,” Griff said. “But really, it’s okay.”

At the same time, Lex was saying, “Thanks. We’d appreciate that.”

Griff decided maybe he was better off just letting Lex speak for him.

“Want to follow me back to town?” Bill asked. “You can drop off the truck, help me unload the electronics and then we can head home.”

Lex jumped up, but Griff was shaking his head.

“What?” Bill asked.

_ Jonah, _ Griff signed.  _ I’m sure he has spies all around town. Which means he probably knows we came back with supplies. We need to guard them until they’ve been distributed. _

Bill looked thoughtful for a moment. “Huh. You’re right. I should have thought of that.”

Griff shrugged. He was trained in infiltration, so it was second nature to him.  _ I’ll take the first shift. Lex can go back with you if he wants to. _

Lex was shaking his head before Griff finished. “Nope. I’m staying here with you.”

Griff smiled at him. He’d hoped his mate would stay, but he’d wanted to give him the option. It  _ had _ been a long day.

“Let me go unload the truck, let the Mayor know how we did, grab a quick nap and then I’ll be back to relieve you,” Bill said. “I can probably get Jimmy to come back too.”

“And I can come relieve Bill later,” Stanley added. “It makes sense.”

Griff was grateful to the other men. He had been prepared to stay all night if needed, but he could use the rest. He was trying to hide it, but his kidney was starting to hurt again.

“Sounds good,” Lex said.

Bill and Stanley drove off, leaving Lex and Griff alone.

“Don’t think I missed that you’re favoring your side,” Lex said. He trotted into the barn and came back a few minutes later dragging a hay bale. Griff started over to help him, but Lex waved him off. “I got this, Griff. You may be stronger than me, but I can move a bale of hay.”

He brought out several more and arranged them to form a rough “couch.” As soon as he proclaimed it done, Griff sat down, relieved to be off his feet. Lex settled next to him, back against Griff’s uninjured side. Pulling out his phone, he started fiddling with it.

“What you doing?”

“Taking notes on what I need to do to get communications up and running.”

Griff glanced over his shoulder. “Set up WiFi?”

Lex nodded. “No hacker can live without it.”

Griff snorted at that.

“Seriously, though, all the cell towers are out, so I can’t hack into them. Although if they were running, I totally could.”

“I believe.” And he did. The longer he knew Lex, the more the hacker impressed him. He was glad Gail had knocked sense into him, and he’d made the Omega his mate. He followed up that thought with a kiss on the top of Lex’s head.

Lex smiled and arched up into the kiss. “So since I can’t use the cell towers, I’m going to have to set up as close to Jericho-wide WiFi as I can.”

Griff thought he got it. “Voice over IP.”

Lex made a finger gun over his shoulder. “Right in one. I got three satellite dishes. As soon as we get back, I’m going to set one of them up and see if I can get a fix on a DISH satellite.”

“After get back and sleep.”

Lex glanced at him over one shoulder. “Just sleep?”

He winked at Griff, who laughed and put aside his gun briefly to sign,  _ Well, it was a very stressful day. I might need to be relaxed before I’d be able to sleep. _

“I think I can help with that.”

Griff picked his rifle back up and scanned the woods. He heard nothing beyond quiet birdsong and rustling that was too small to be a man. Probably squirrels.

“And I got all those routers and signal extenders. Jericho is too big to cover entirely. We’d have needed more trucks to bring back enough stuff. But I think I can cover Main Street and maybe a few key outlying points.”

“Jimmy and Bill houses.”

Lex nodded. “Maybe. Although we might be better off using radios for them. I got radio equipment too.”

“I saw.”

“I checked Bill’s radio before we left, and the stuff I got should be compatible. Also, once we have WiFi, I want to start scanning what’s left of the Internet. Find out where civilization is. Who’s in charge. Who might have hit us. That sort of thing. Information is key.”

Griff considered. “I know some of the plan,” he finally said.

Lex put down his phone and turned to face Griff. “You do? Why haven’t you said anything before now?”

Griff was suddenly reminded that his mate was also a trained government agent. Who was considered to be good enough to assassinate.

He scanned the area again and put down his gun. No way he could talk his way through this one.  _ I only know bits and pieces of it. And I may not even have it all correct. _

“So, tell me what you do know, and we can work from that.”

Griff nodded.  _ All right. It was domestic, not foreign. I am sure of that. _

Lex’s eyes went wide at that. “So not the Chinese or Russians or anyone like that?”

Griff shook his head.  _ Definitely not. Now, I don’t know exactly who they are, just that they are American. And there were a lot of bombs. Twenty or more. _

“What’s the goal?” Lex managed to sound professional, angry and slightly sick, all at the same time.

_ To overthrow the current government and form a new one. I think. This is the part I’m hazy on. I know they are domestic because all my handlers were American. There was talk about the country going in the wrong direction and they could do better. I don’t know where all the bombs were headed, but I assume D.C. and other major population centers were targeted. _

Lex was nodding as he signed. “Yeah. Atlanta, Houston, Denver obviously, Philly probably. Most of them were likely on the East Coast.”

“Probably.”

“And you knew Jericho would be safe? What was the plan for here? I’m assuming there was one.”

Griff shrugged.  _ Not as sure about that. Everyone knew that Jericho was going to be clear of fallout. But whatever the plan was for here wasn’t shared. Just that it was a safe place to assemble afterwards. _

“So, we should assume people will be coming here?”

_ Maybe. It wasn’t intended as a primary location, I think. More as a fallback thing. _

“Why were you supposed to kill me and Stiles?”

Griff winced internally at the flat tone in Lex’s voice. He’d been expecting this question for some time and had been surprised he hadn’t asked it earlier.  _ They thought you were close to finding out something about the plot. I was supposed to stop you. _

Lex shook his head. “That doesn’t make sense, Griff.”

Griff cocked his head at his mate.

“The Denver bomb went off in the middle of your mission. So, either you were incredibly slow to get into position or they had something else in mind. Stiles was getting close to the objective, and I was a little slow hacking the locks, but not that slow. There was no way we could have gotten the information out before the bomb went off.”

Griff considered. He hadn’t known that, but in hindsight, it made sense. Stiles hadn’t yet penetrated anything vital.  _ Good reasoning, _ he finally signed.

“Which means your information is suspect.” The words were delivered in a flat tone, but Griff could smell concentration from the hacker. He was thinking hard but not blaming Griff for anything.

“True,” he said, before going back to signs.  _ I am certain about the general number of bombs, and I think I’m right about the plan to overthrow the government, but I might be wrong about other things. So, your idea of trying to search for stuff online is good. _

Lex was still obviously thinking. “Bombing the heck out of the country seems kind of extreme for a government overthrow. I’m thinking there has to be more to it than that.”

Griff allowed as how that made sense, even though he hadn’t thought about it until he started talking it through with Lex.

Just then he heard a  _ snap _ in the trees nearby. The birds stopped singing. Griff was in motion before he thought about it, putting himself in front of his mate and picking up his rifle with the same motion.

Lex stood up, shotgun ready.

“Barn,” Griff hissed.

Lex nodded and moved with admirable silence. Griff followed, keeping his body between Lex and the direction where they had heard the sound. As soon as they were through the barn door, Griff whirled to look behind them, concealing himself behind the door frame.

Three men approached, rifles extended. Griff didn’t recognize any of them but a sudden intake of breath made him think perhaps his mate did. “Know them?” he whispered as quietly as his ruined vocal cords allowed.

“One of them. Marshall. Asshole Alpha.”

As soon as Lex said the name, Griff recognized the scent as one of the Alphas he’d smelled on his mate after he’d returned with Bill from the sheriff’s office. “The one you elbow locked?” Lex had told him the story that night.

“Yeah.”

Griff’s lips curled back in a grim smile. He wouldn’t mind tangling with the Alpha who had dared touch his mate. Even though Lex hadn’t been his mate yet.

The three men were walking in a triangle, Marshall to the left of the man leading. The leader was an Alpha. The third man was a Beta. All were dressed in camouflage hunting clothing. Griff supposed they could be here on official business but he doubted it. There was something furtive about their scent.

On the other hand, he didn’t want to shoot law enforcement, even if one of them was a jerk. He waited to see what they would do next.

“Jonah said this was where the trucks had gone,” the Beta said. “Looks like they left it unguarded.”

“Nose blind Beta!” Marshall said with a hiss. “There are two up there. An Alpha and that damned Omega who humiliated me.”

“And now they know we’re here,” the second Alpha said, sounding disgusted.

“They already knew,” Marshall said. “Can’t you scent them? They’re ready for us.” His lips drew back in a smile that almost matched Griff’s. “I’ll enjoy teaching that Omega a lesson.”

Their conversation made it obvious they weren’t here on official business. Bill had filled them in on Jonah Prowse and his gang of thugs. Griff was glad. He wouldn’t need to hold back. Too much.

Lex smelled focused beside him with no hint of fear. Good. Griff could probably take the three of them but Lex’s help would make it easier.

“How do you want to do this?” Lex asked.

Griff checked the position of the three. They were moving slowly enough that he thought he had time to sign his plan.  _ I’m going to step out and draw their attention. Think you can slip out that side door— _ he motioned with his chin— _ and flank them? _

Lex nodded, hefted his shotgun and started moving silently toward the door. Griff was pleased to note that someone had taught him to move properly. Not  _ just _ a hacker, no matter what he said about himself.

Griff gave him a minute to open the door and slip out. Then he stepped half out of the barn, far enough to be seen with his rifle but not so far that he couldn’t get back under cover quickly. He made his scent that of  _ big bad Alpha _ , hoping it would distract the other two from noticing that Lex had moved. Plus, if posturing resolved the situation peacefully, why not?

“Marshall, isn’t it?” Griff said, forcing his rough voice to carry as far as it could. “We’re here under orders from the Mayor.” He doubted they cared if they were working for Jonah, but he wanted to buy Lex as much time as possible.

“Not likely,” Marshall said, arrogance dripping from his tone. “I think you’re hoarding supplies. Drop your weapon and come out. No one needs to get hurt.”

All three of them held their rifles, ready to fire. Griff hoped Lex was in position. The second Alpha was licking his lips, probably from nerves, but Marshall and the Beta were standing steady.

Nothing for it. Too quickly for them to react, he fired, one bullet taking the second Alpha in the knee. He dropped with a scream. A second later, a shotgun blast boomed from the side, showering all three of them in a cloud of dirt. Griff approved of Lex firing a warning shot first. He really didn’t want to kill any of them if he didn’t have to.

The Alpha’s screaming drew the attention of the other two. Griff stepped all the way out of the barn, covering them with his rifle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lex move out from behind a tree, shotgun similarly raised.

“Drop your weapons!” Griff barked.

Marshall started to turn in Lex’s direction. Griff fired instantly, hitting him in the leg and tumbling him to the ground.

The Beta dropped his weapon and raised his hands.

“Cover them!” Griff said.

Lex’s shotgun didn’t waver.

Griff moved quickly, disarming all three men. Marshall shot him a glare of utter hate, even through his obvious pain. Griff ignored it. The Alpha brought it on himself for having messed with his mate. On a brighter note, Marshall now knew that both of them could defend themselves. Hopefully there would be no more trouble from the man.

The glare still heating his back argued otherwise.

As soon as they were disarmed, Griff went back to the barn where he found sufficient rope to tie them all up. Once they were secured, he signed to Lex.  _ I’ve got them now. See if there’s a first aid kit in the barn? Don’t use one of the ones we picked up today if you don’t have to. They don’t deserve it. _

Lex shot him a nod and a wicked grin and headed for the barn, not lowering his shotgun.

Griff had kept half an eye on the three while he signed. He saw no comprehension in their eyes. Either they were good actors or none of them knew sign language.

Lex returned with a battered first aid kit, and he and Griff did what they could for the two wounded Alphas. By the time Bill pulled up in his battered SUV, they had finished a rough field dressing of the wounds, courtesy of more of Griff’s training.

“What the fuck? Marshall?” Bill yelled as he climbed out of his vehicle.

“They said they were working with Jonah,” Lex said quickly.

Bill gave the three hog-tied men a glare and an angry head shake. “Marshall! I knew you were an idiot, but this is stupid even for you.”

“Because yeah, naturally you believe a couple of outsiders over us Jericho boys.”

A chill went through Griff. Would Bill believe him? Marshall had a point. He and Lex were basically strangers.

He needn’t have worried. Bill snorted. “Nice try, Marshall, but I recognize Stefan there…” Bill motioned to the Beta. “He’s been sniffing around trying to impress Jonah for years. And I always had my suspicions about you.” He glared at the other Alpha. “But I always thought better of you, Dave. I’m disappointed you’re mixed up with this crowd.”

He turned to Lex. “Either of you any more hurt than you already were?”

Griff had forgotten about his kidney in the adrenaline of the fight, but now that the excitement was over, he was starting to ache. However, he shook his head. Lex glanced down at the rough bandage Griff had placed on his wound from the battle against the ferals. “I’ll need to rewrap this, but, no. It’s no worse than it was.”

Bill nodded. “Good. How about you drive my truck back and send Jimmy back up here? You two get some sleep. We can handle these yahoos from here.”

_ You sure? _ Griff signed. He kept watch on the three, but they still didn’t seem to understand.  _ They are tied up, but there’s only one of you. _

Bill gave him a half smile.  _ They can’t sign. You’re fine. _

Lex was watching both of their hands intently.

_ I’m sure, _ Bill signed back.  _ Been doing this for a while. _ He was smiling as he signed it.

Griff gave him a quick nod. “Okay. Lex?”

Lex nodded, and Griff was pleased to see he still didn’t lower the shotgun. “Yeah. I’m ready to head back.” Griff was also pleased to note that he didn’t mention being tired, even though Griff could see the weariness and pain in his eyes. He was pretty sure they still had some Motrin left over from the farmhouse.

Bill handed over his keys, and they walked to the SUV. Lex took the keys from Griff when they got there. “I can tell you're hurting. I’ll drive.”

Griff gave a grunt but didn’t bother to argue. Lex was right.

They drove back to town and found Jimmy at his house. The deputy drove them home and then headed off to join Bill. Griff felt a bit guilty for leaving Bill alone, but he trusted the deputy knew his job. And he was tired and in no small amount of pain.

Once in the apartment, Griff walked straight into the bedroom and collapsed on the bed. Lex detoured to the bathroom and came back with a glass of water and Motrin. “Here. There’s only a few left but you look like you need them.”

“Thank you,” Griff said as he sat up to take them.

Lex stripped down to underwear and crawled under the blankets. Griff joined him, and they were both out in minutes.


	15. October 27 to October 31

**October 27**

The next morning, Bill was back in the apartment, and he told them that they’d locked up Marshall and the other two.

“Mayor Green wasn’t too happy to hear that one of the new deputies had ties to Jonah,” the deputy told them, his eyes sunken from a night of too little sleep. He and Jimmy had stayed on watch the rest of the night but no one else had come to investigate the stores.

“How does he want to distribute the stuff?” Lex asked.

“Through Gracie’s store for now. Except for the electronics stuff. He wants you to handle that. Any help you need, he says he can get you.” Bill shrugged. “Although I don’t know that many people in town have the skills.”

Lex waved him off. “It’s fine. I can handle everything with Griff’s help. And maybe one other set of hands. Most of it’s going to be grunt work with me telling them what to do.”

Bill considered for a moment. “How about Bonnie? Since she signs, it’ll make things easier for Griff.”

Griff nodded his agreement. He’d met Bonnie briefly before they’d left for the warehouse, and he had liked what he’d seen. She had spirit.

“If Griff agrees, then, sure,” Lex said.

They set up in one of the empty conference rooms in City Hall. Bonnie showed up right as they were moving the equipment in from the red truck they’d used to bring it all down from the barn. Bonnie took one look at them unloading and started helping them carry everything inside. Jericho residents eyed them curiously but Lex didn’t enlighten them.

Once everything was set up, Lex started with the radios. Under his direction, Bonnie took apart the radio transmitter, and Lex looked it over. He nodded, obviously satisfied with something he saw.

“What?” Griff asked. To him it just looked like a mess of fried circuitry.

“I can fix it,” Lex said. “I’d hoped I would be able to. The radio equipment I got from the warehouse isn’t as heavy duty and doesn’t have the range. It would have worked, but what I was really hoping for was to use the parts from the new stuff to fix the old.” He made sure to face Bonnie so she could lip read his explanation.

“That’s good,” she said, smiling.

“Yeah, it is. So how would you two like to learn how to fix radio equipment?”

Griff was agreeable, and Bonnie nodded eagerly.

Lex showed them what to do and left them to removing old circuitry and replacing it with new. While they worked, he opened up phones and started setting them up. He also configured a router and was soon humming to himself as he did…whatever he did. Griff was content to leave him to it.

After a few hours and several more explanations and a few corrections from Lex, they thought they had the transmitter fixed. Bonnie went to get a radio from Bill. She came back with the radio and the deputy.

“It’s working?” Bill asked.

“I think it will,” Lex said, taking the radio from the deputy, opening it up and quickly replacing some parts. He swapped out the battery and tested it.

It worked. Bill smiled as the radio crackled on the correct frequency and he examined the transmitter. “This isn’t the new one you brought from the warehouse.”

“Nope.” Lex explained to him what he’d done while Griff listened, happy to see his mate in his element.

“Perfect,” Bill said when the explanation was complete. “That’s better than I had expected.”

“We still need to repair the other radios, but that won’t take long,” Lex said. “Then all the deputies will have them.”

“That’s great.” Bill was smiling. Griff noticed his dimples, which were very similar to Lex’s. They were nice.

“I’ve made some progress on the phones,” Lex continued. “When they are working that should get communications about as good as they’re going to get for now.”

“It’s more than we had expected,” Bill agreed. “It’s good that you showed up.”

Griff was happy that Bill was pleased. He still worried that he and Lex might be asked to leave. Even with the additional food they’d brought, supplies were still tight, and Griff knew people got very insular under these conditions.

Bill left them to it, and Griff and Bonnie fixed radios while Lex worked on phones. Things were going well so far. Now if they’d just continue...

**October 29**

It took most of two days, but the phones worked, and the radios were fixed. Bill and Jimmy decided to hand out radios to deputies at the station, where they could make sure everyone knew Lex was responsible for them.

Lex stood off to the side, not wanting to be the center of attention but pleased that Bill had thought to recognize him. His eyes moved over the deputies exclaiming over the working radios. Who knew such a simple thing could have such a profound impact?

His eye caught a newcomer walking in, and he froze. Griff immediately moved to his side and whispered, as quietly as he could with his ruined voice, “What’s wrong?”

“I know him,” Lex said, motioning subtly with his chin to the black man who had just walked in.

“How?”

Lex pulled Griff off to the back of the room and signed, haltingly, using his limited ability to make signs—he was much better understanding them. _ I think he’s CIA. I recognize his face from a passport I made. _

Griff’s eyes darted over to the man and back to Lex. _ You’re certain? _

_ Pretty sure. I usually am good with faces. _

“Huh,” Griff said out loud before signing, _ Former CIA now? Or current, do you think? Would he recognize you? _

Lex shrugged. “Hard to tell on current or former. No, he wouldn’t recognize me. I was back office, not in the field with him.” He considered for a minute. “Ask Bill about him?”

Griff nodded. “Can do that.”

Lex glanced around and saw Bill standing to one side, watching people collect their radios. He must have noticed the scrutiny because he raised a questioning eyebrow. Lex motioned him over.

“What’s up?” Bill asked as he approached.

“Who is the black guy?” Lex asked.

“Hawkins?” Bill frowned. “New in town but a good guy. Former cop. Jimmy recruited him as a deputy.” He glanced from Lex to Griff. “Are you saying there’s more to him than that?”

“Maybe,” Lex said. “I thought I recognized him as CIA. Someone I made documents for.”

Bill glanced at Hawkins, who was talking with the others. The deputy’s frown deepened. “How sure are you?”

“As sure as I can be without accessing my databases. I have a good memory for faces.”

“Former or current?”

Lex thought it interesting that Bill and Griff obviously thought alike.

“I assume current. I made a passport and other ID for him…” Lex thought for a moment. “Maybe six months ago?”

“What other ID?” Griff asked.

“Driver’s license.” Lex paused as memory struck him. “And an FBI badge.”

“FBI?” Bill asked.

Griff’s eyebrows went up. “Why FBI?”

Lex shook his head. “I don’t know what he was working on. They didn’t always tell me.”

_ If the FBI was his cover, that sounds like something domestic, _ Griff signed.

Lex agreed. “I wish I could remember any more about his cover. Sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Bill said, but he was obviously thinking.

_ How new in town? _ Griff asked.

“That’s what I was thinking about,” Bill answered. “About a day before the bombs, if I remember correctly.”

Lex cocked his head. “That’s not good. That’s not good at all.”

_ Maybe. Maybe not, _ Griff signed. _ If he had been working the case, it might be a very good thing. _

“But if that’s the case, he wasn’t successful,” Lex pointed out.

_ Not every operation is. You know that as well as I do. _

“He’s right,” Bill said. “Although now you do have me concerned. I did like him, but then again, if he was working against us, he’d make sure we liked and trusted him.”

_ Okay if we do some looking? _

Bill frowned. “What kind of looking?”

_ Checking out his house. Isn’t there a big gathering on Halloween? His house might be empty. _

Lex could see that Bill wasn’t even a little bit happy about that. However, after a moment, he nodded, reluctance evident in the motion. “Let me talk to Jimmy first. See what he thinks or can come up with, but okay. If we can’t come up with anything better by Halloween, we’ll try it.”

Griff nodded. He didn’t look happy about it either, but Lex could smell satisfaction and resolve emanating from him. They’d all do what needed to be done, even if distasteful.

**October 31**

Jimmy hadn’t come up with a better idea, and Bill had reluctantly agreed to go along with breaking into Hawkins’ apartment. However, he had insisted on accompanying them. “It’s still illegal as fuck, but if I’m there, well, at least I know exactly what’s going on.”

Jimmy had looked as if he wanted to make a comment, but he kept his mouth shut. He agreed to keep Hawkins and his family distracted at the Halloween celebration, hopefully buying the other three time to get in and out without trouble.

Bill wasn’t at all happy to see how easily Lex picked the lock on the door. “Where’d you learn that?”

“I did work for the CIA, Bill,” Lex said as he put away his kit in his waist pack.

“And you carry lock picks? Even after a bomb went off?” Bill knew the question wasn’t really relevant, but he hated everything about this, even as he admitted the need.

“I always carry lock picks,” Lex said, standing and opening the door.

“Enough talk,” Griff hissed as he led the way into the house.

Bill took the upstairs while Lex took the main level and Griff indicated he’d check out the basement. Splitting up would allow them to get in and out quickly. As soon as he got into the basement and found the locked door, his instincts told him they were onto something. He hurried upstairs to get Lex and his lock picks.

Lex followed him down, and Bill somehow knew he needed to see this because he appeared right as Lex started examining the door. The deputy whistled. “I didn’t really think we’d find anything.”

Lex had the lock opened in a minute. “I think the lock was more to keep the kids out than us. That wasn’t much of a lock.” He opened the door and shone his flashlight through the opening. They had picked up several flashlights and a huge pile of batteries from the warehouse. Griff looked in, eyes following the direction of the light beam. “Huh,” he said. “Interesting.” He moved into the room and headed straight for what looked like a ruggedized laptop. “Lex?”

Bill followed him and shone his light on the various shelves and other items in the room. He let out another low whistle. “Look at this.”

Griff walked over and immediately saw what had caught the deputy’s eye. A map of the United States, with pushpins dotting it. Hie gaze darted first to Denver, then to D.C.

“Think this is where the bombs went off?” Bill asked.

“Think so,” Griff answered as he winced and catalogued the destruction. A fair swath of the country had obviously vanished in a cloud of radioactive dust.

“I can hack the laptop, but I think it would take too long,” Lex said from the desk.

Bill’s head shot up. “You’re saying you can’t hack something?” Even with the grim evidence of destruction, his voice held a hint of teasing.

“I _ can _ hack it. But do we want to be here that long?”

Griff ignored them, playing his light around the room. The light glinted on something metallic, and he went over to look. Immediately, he recognized the object and held it up. “FBI badge.”

Lex stood up and shot over to look at it. The picture and name on the badge matched Robert Hawkins.

“Real or fake?” Bill asked, glancing over Lex’s shoulder.

Lex held it closer to the light and examined it closely. “Fake. But a very good one. I only know it’s a fake because I’m the one who made it.”

“Then he was undercover as FBI?” Bill asked, tone puzzled.

“Apparently.” Lex’s face was screwed up in concentration. “I think I remember making this now.”

“What was he working on?” Griff asked.

Lex shook his head. “That’s what I’m trying to recall.” His expression cleared. “Right. He was going undercover to examine a domestic terrorism plot. The FBI identity was his backup in case things went bad.”

“He was CIA pretending to be FBI pretending to be a terrorist?” Bill asked, his voice rising in surprise.

“Not uncommon,” Griff said.

Lex was nodding. “Exactly. The Agency isn’t supposed to work domestic cases, but…well…sometimes we bend the rules.”

“This is more than bending,” Bill exclaimed.

“True,” Griff said. “But probably needed. So, he’s on our side?”

Lex tilted his head. “Probably. I know I made the cover for him, so he started out on the right side, but that doesn’t mean he stayed there.”

“You’re saying he could have turned?” Bill asked. “Double-crossed us?”

“Possible.”

“Likely?” Griff asked.

Lex shook his head. “I don’t think so. Now that I remember more about him, Hawkins was well-regarded.”

“Is that even his real name?” Bill asked.

“Oddly enough, yes.” Lex answered. “It wasn’t usual, but I guess it’s a common enough name that they allowed it. I remember asking about it at the time and being told to use the name.”

“Then we need to talk to him,” Griff said.

“And get out of here,” Bill added. “I want to know how he knew what cities were hit.”

“As do I,” Lex agreed.

They put everything back as they’d found it, locked the door behind them and left the house. While they had one possible answer, they also had a lot more questions.

***

They rejoined the celebrations, Lex keeping an eye out for Hawkins. While he didn’t think the other agent would recognize him, he wasn’t ready for the confrontation if he was wrong. He was fairly certain Hawkins hadn’t been turned, but until they talked to him, they couldn’t be certain.

When they found Jimmy, Bill quickly filled his partner in on what they had found. Lex half listened and half planned how he wanted to approach talking to Hawkins.

“How many cities were on the map?” Jimmy was asking.

“I didn’t stop to count. But a lot.”

“Man. Who’d do such a thing to us?”

Lex forced his attention back to the conversation. “Assuming Griff is right, and I don’t have any reason to doubt him, some of our supposed own did this.”

“What can we do?” the big deputy asked.

“Find out why Hawkins is here and what he knows,” Lex answered. “We can take it from there.” For the first time since he’d awoken, blind and helpless on a filthy mattress in Colorado, he felt as if he were in his element. This was what he’d been trained to do. Assess, analyze, and, if needed, infiltrate. Okay, usually he supported the agent who was infiltrating, but he did have the training to do it himself, if needed. Besides, he thought Griff would be an excellent partner.

“Talk to Hawkins next?” Griff asked.

“I think so,” Lex replied.

“Want me to get him and bring him over here?” Jimmy asked.

Lex shook his head. “Not at the party. Let’s wait until tomorrow. We can talk to him before his shift.”

“All of us?” Bill asked. “Or just a couple of us?”

“Jimmy and Lex,” Griff said. “He’s Beta, right?”

“Yeah, he is. But why those two?” Bill’s brows were furrowed in apparent puzzlement.

_ Not me because I can’t talk well enough. _ There was just enough light for Lex to read his signs. Bill translated along for Jimmy. _ Lex needs to be there because he knows Hawkins. Jimmy because everyone trusts him. _

Jimmy scuffed the dirt with his foot. “I don’t know about that.”

Bill grinned and gently punched his shoulder. “He’s right. Everyone does. Sounds like a plan.”

“First thing in the morning, then?” Lex suggested.

“Works for me,” Jimmy said. He smiled at Griff. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep your mate safe.”

“You better.” It came out as a growl, but Griff didn’t seem embarrassed by it. Lex smiled to himself but said nothing. He caught Bill’s eye, and the deputy nodded and had a small grin on his face.

“Then let’s mingle.”


	16. November 1

The escape of Mitch Cafferty the night before almost interrupted their plans, but Griff held firm. They needed to talk to Hawkins as soon as possible. Bill had grumbled a bit, upset about the escape and having been locked in a cell by Mitch, but he went along with it.

Lex and Jimmy went to Hawkins’ house just after dawn, wanting to get him before he started his patrol shift.

Jimmy knocked. Lex held back a bit. He knew Hawkins had worked with Griff already, and he supposed the man knew there were three near look-alikes in town, but he still thought it was better to let Jimmy lead for the moment.

Hawkins opened his door and frowned. “Jimmy?” His eyes darted to Lex. “You’re not Griff, so you must be the one I haven’t met yet.”

“I’m Lex,” he said and nodded.

“Can we talk to you for a minute, Robert?” Jimmy asked.

“All right?” He sounded uncertain but he stepped outside with them.

No one was within earshot, and Hawkins had closed the door, so Lex just said it right out, keeping his voice low. “I know you’re CIA.”

Hawkins’ eyes widened. “Uh. No. I’m a former cop.”

Lex shook his head. “No. You’re not. I’m CIA, and I made your FBI badge and other documents.”

Hawkins glanced around and motioned them to the side of the house. “Why approach me now?”

“Because I only saw you for the first time a couple of days ago,” Lex answered, when they were out of sight of the street. “I’m good with faces, and I recognized yours. Didn’t quite place you, though, until we broke into your house last night and searched your basement.”

Hawkins’ dark eyes flashed but he said nothing.

“We found the laptop and the FBI badge. I know you were working a domestic terror case.” Lex had figured it was better to keep hitting him with information, not giving him time to think too much. “Did it have anything to do with the bombs?”

“You don’t know?” Hawkins asked.

Lex noticed he wasn’t denying being CIA anymore. “No. I wasn’t need to know on the specifics. Just enough to make the documents.”

Hawkins sighed. “This is awkward.”

Lex nodded. “I bet.” He still had a good feeling about the agent, but he wondered what he’d say next.

“All right,” Hawkins finally said. “You’re right. I am CIA. And I probably have information that would be useful.” He eyed Lex up and down. “And if you’re the one who made my papers, there’s a good chance we can help each other.”

Lex tilted his head at the man. “What does that mean?”

Hawkins shook his head. “Not now. Meet me here tonight. I’ll take you downstairs, tell you what I know, and we can go from there. Fair?”

Lex glanced at Jimmy, who appeared uncertain but finally nodded.

“All right,” Lex said.

Hawkins gave them another nod and started off.

“Keep an eye on him today,” Lex said, not even thinking about the fact that he was giving orders to the most senior deputy in town. 

Jimmy didn’t seem bothered by it. All he said was, “Definitely. While that seemed to go well, I’m still not sure we can trust him.”

“I think we can, but in case I’m wrong, it’s better to be safe,” Lex said in agreement.

***

The situation got tenser later in the day. Lex was in his usual conference room at Town Hall, working on equipment. The radios continued to work, and Bill had been happy to have his again. Now Lex was trying to get a local WiFi network set up. He hoped to have phone service at least up and down Main Street by the end of the week.

Bill and Griff burst into the room, Bill’s face drawn into a frown. Lex noticed Griff looked more confused than angry. “What’s wrong?” Lex asked.

“Gray Anderson is on his way,” Bill said.

Lex knew the name, but that was all. Apparently, the man owned the salt mine and had left town soon after the bombs had fallen to try to find out what had happened. He’d returned the day before Halloween, and his news had been grave. Lots of destruction. Few signs of civilization beyond Jericho. Bill had filled them in, but Lex had paid little attention, being more concerned with learning about Hawkins.

“From your expression, I’m assuming that’s bad?”

Bill shook his head, lips pursed in frustration. “Not bad exactly. Just…exasperating. I mean, Gray has a point, but not with you two.”

“And he wants to talk to Hawkins,” Griff put in.

Now Lex was just more confused. “Why?” Did the man know something about the CIA agent that he didn’t?

“Jimmy will be with him when that happens. It’ll be fine,” Bill said.

Griff had stopped by the conference room earlier, and Lex had filled him in on the brief conversation with Hawkins. He assumed his mate had briefed the deputy.

“Still not sure about the problem,” Lex said.

Bill sighed and threw up his hands. “Gray’s concerned about newcomers to the town. Says they are taking resources that properly belong to Jericho residents. He’s not wrong, I think, but not about you. He wants to talk to you two and learn why you’re here.” He shook his head. “I  _ told _ him you two are fine, but he wouldn’t listen.”

Lex heard motion outside the door to the room, and he assumed it was Gray. “No worries. I’ll answer his questions.” He motioned to the equipment on the table. “I think we can amply prove our worth to the town.”

He wasn’t completely surprised. From what he’d gathered, Gray was running against Mayor Green later in the month. The Mayor had been sick for days, and there was some talk that he might not survive the week. It was a logical time for a power struggle. Lex had lived through his share of those at the Agency. He knew how to handle himself.

A tall, middle-aged man entered the room. “Bill. You’re already here. Good.” The man held out a hand to Lex. “I’m Gray Anderson.” He glanced from Lex to Griff and then to Bill.

Lex smiled. “Yes, we all look alike. We’re used to that. I’m Lex, by the way.”

“Griff Krenshaw,” his mate said, his tone neutral.

Gray shook Griff’s hand as well and indicated the seats at the table. “Maybe we could sit?”

Griff sat beside Lex, who was amused to note that Bill took his other side. All three of them were opposite Gray.

“Have a last name, Lex?” Gray asked.

“Nope. Legally, I have just the one name.” He’d expected that.

“Why only the one?”

Lex smiled again, attempting to keep the mood cordial as long as possible. “I had my reasons. What’s this about anyway?”

“Just trying to learn a bit about strangers to Jericho,” Gray answered, his tone smooth and non-confrontational. For the moment.

Griff reached for Lex’s hand under the table.

“What brought you to Jericho?” Gray continued.

Lex answered, wondering how long the man would wait before expecting Griff to speak. Lex’s nose told him Gray was Alpha, and usually Alphas expected Omegas to be seen and not heard. “Griff and I were in Denver when the bomb went off. He pulled me from the rubble of a building. I was blind for a while, and he managed to get us here.” Lex kept the explanation simple. It wasn’t that he wanted to hide anything, but Gray’s body language spoke of tension and suspicion, and he wanted to give him few reasons to question.

“You were blind? But you can see now?”

Lex nodded. “Yes. According to April, it was a temporary thing.”

“Mr. Krenshaw? Anything to add?”

“Don’t speak well,” Griff said. Lex had to stifle a laugh. His mate’s voice was rougher than usual, and he knew the Alpha was doing it on purpose.

Gray frowned. “What happened?”

Lex answered smoothly. “It’s an old injury. Griff usually signs. I can translate if you can’t read sign language.” He knew they shouldn’t be baiting the man, but he was making it too easy. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Bill’s small smile. Maybe they were taking the right approach.

Gray frowned but shook his head. “No. That’s all right. My sympathies.” He motioned to the equipment on the table. “I understand we have you to thank for this, Lex.”

Bill tapped the radio on his shoulder. “It’s good to have some communications back.”

Lex nodded. “Not just me, though. We wouldn’t have gotten away from the ferals without Griff. He’s handy in a fight.”

Gray’s eyes widened. “Isn’t it odd that we have the both of you, with such useful skills?”

Lex leaned forward while Griff moved his hands from under the table to steeple them on the tabletop. “What exactly are you implying, Mr. Anderson?”

“I’m not implying anything. I’m just asking questions.” His expression was wary.

“Not just questions,” Griff said, his tone insistent. “What you thinking about us?”

Gray held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Truly, I’m not implying anything. I’m just curious.”

Lex had felt Bill twitching against him, and the deputy finally spoke. “Gray. I knew Griff from years ago. He and Lex have brought us extra food, radios and now Lex is trying to get some phone service up and running. He also brought some portable generators that April was very happy to get. I think they’ve more than proved their worth.”

“You knew Griff from before?”

Bill rolled his eyes. “Yes. He used to be FBI. We met at a conference.”

“And it doesn’t bother any of you that you all look so much alike? And ‘used to be FBI?’”

Lex was starting to get irritated, and he hoped his scent was making that clear. “We don’t know why we all look alike. As far as we know we’re not related, but maybe we are. Why Griff is no longer FBI is none of your business. Could you please get to the point?” He motioned to the table full of electrical equipment. “I do have other things I could be doing. Tasks that will help Jericho.”

Gray leaned back in his chair. Lex wasn’t fooled for a moment by the casual body language. “The people of Jericho have a long history of looking after each other. That’s what’s going to keep us alive through this. Strangers, though? We don’t know you. We don’t know exactly why you’re here. Maybe you have our best interests at heart. Maybe you don’t. If you’re going to be eating our limited supply of food, I think we have a right to know for certain.”

Before Lex could say anything, Bill stood up. “Gray. That’s enough. Lex and Griff have brought us extra supplies, food and otherwise. It more than makes up for what they will be eating. They didn’t have to do that. They could have...I don’t know? Stolen a truck, gone to the warehouse, looted it and been on their way. But they didn’t. They brought food and skills to this town. Now, I see your point. I even agree with it. To a point. But not with these two.”

Lex was reminded of the cool, calculated way Bill had fired on the ferals in Colorado. He hoped Gray recognized what he was dealing with.

Gray leaned forward, eyes flashing.

Apparently he did not.

“Bill. The only reason I’m taking this from you at all is because you’re been a good deputy. But you’re not in charge of this town. You’re not the one to make these kinds of decisions.”

Lex had to suppress a smile at what Bill said next.

“Neither are you, Gray. Mayor Green is in charge of this town until the next election. If you win, that will change. But until then, you’re not. Jimmy and I are the only trained deputies left in this town. That puts us in charge of security. I have every right to make ‘this kind of decision.’”

Lex couldn’t help a raised eyebrow. Bill had actually used air quotes. A Beta using air quotes to an Alpha. Maybe he needed to rethink, yet again, the characteristics of the various genders.

He noted the scent of quiet satisfaction from his mate. He knew Griff could have gone Alpha to Alpha against Gray, but he’d stayed quiet and let the Beta do the talking.

“Bill…” Gray started.

The deputy shook his head. “No, Gray. We’re done here. I won’t stop you from questioning others. Like I said, I do think you have a valid point. But you’re done questioning Griff and Lex.”

Gray’s scent was sour, but the Alpha stood up and left, without another word.

Bill sat back down. “Well, let’s hope I don’t end up regretting that.”

Griff smiled at him. “Don’t think you will. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He glanced around the table. “How much more do you have here, Lex?”

The hacker considered for a minute. “If I can have some extra hands, I think we are ready to start installing routers up and down Main Street. Service will be spotty, but it should work.”

“I had a thought last night, Lex,” Bill said. “Want everyone to bring their home routers here? Sure, most of them are fried, but a few might have survived.”

Lex nodded eagerly. “Good idea, Bill. Even five or six more will make a difference. Suppose Stanley will let me borrow Bonnie? She’s quick and knows how to check them.”

“I think so. There’s not too much to do on the farm now, and I think Stanley would rather have her working than eyeing the young Betas and Alphas.”

Griff snorted. “Stanley’d kill anyone who messed with his sister.”

Bill grinned at him. “Sure he would. But he’d rather not have to.”

“Fair,” Griff said in response.

“Well, I’d better get back to the station. What time are you going back to see Hawkins, Lex?”

“Around seven. After it’s dark and we won’t be too obvious showing up at his house.”

“All right. I’ll meet you at the apartment around five-thirty? We can grab some dinner and then head over?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Lex said.

Bill left, and Lex turned to his mate. “So, how’d you like to help set up routers?”

Griff frowned. “Sounds boring. Might rather kill ferals.”

Lex punched him in the shoulder. “Might be boring, but it’s a damn sight safer. And if you are a  _ very _ good Alpha, I might treat you right before bed.”

Griff hastily stood up and grabbed a couple of routers.

Lex laughed and picked up his tools.

***

Griff, Lex and Bill showed up at Hawkins’ house as planned. The man met them outside before they could knock.

“All of you?” Hawkins asked.

“We decided Jimmy was overkill,” Lex said.

“I feel like I didn’t get the memo.” He motioned to the three of them. “Which one of the four doesn’t belong in this picture?”

They all had a quick laugh and Hawkins led them around the side of the house and pointed to a door leading into the ground. “Could have used this one the other night. Instead of, you know, tramping through our entire house.”

Lex shrugged. “We didn’t know what we needed was in the basement. Had to check your bedroom for the secret stash.”

Griff punched his shoulder for that.

“What? Gotta know these things.”

Bill’s grin was just visible in the reflected moonlight. “Maybe we could get to the real reason for this visit?”

Hawkins unlocked the door and motioned them downstairs. They all assembled around the map of the United States, covered in push pins.

“I assume these are bomb sites?” Griff asked.

“Yes. I can’t be certain I got them all, but I think these are most of them.”

“So, what can you tell us?” Lex asked. He wanted everything, but he had to respect that the agent might not be able to fill them in on his entire mission.

Hawkins spoke about his infiltration of the terrorist cell and their plans to set off twenty-five bombs around the United States. “Mine was the twenty-fifth, and obviously it didn’t go off. I’d have to assume a few others didn’t make it to their intended targets, but I have been able to monitor a few news sites from other countries, and it looks like most of them did.” He motioned to the map. “I marked every one where I had at least a reasonable certainty.”

“Who was behind this?” Bill asked. “And why?”

Hawkins shook his head. “That’s part of what I was supposed to find out, but I never was able to get close enough to the head of this thing.”

Lex glanced at Griff, who nodded. “I know a little more.”

He filled them in on what he had learned during his time as an assassin. Bill translated the signs for Hawkins.

Once Griff had finished, Hawkins shook his head. “We have bits and pieces but nothing much really to go on.”

Lex smiled. “As you well know, that’s how cases go. Little bit. Little bit. And then boom! It all comes together. We just need to be patient.”

“First we need to survive this winter,” Bill said.

Griff nodded. “Good point. Nothing much we can do until spring.”

Hawkins frowned. “You’re right, of course, but it goes against my grain.”

“Mine too,” Lex agreed. “But survival is plenty to keep us occupied for a while. I’m going to try to hack a satellite. I’m sure there are some still out there.”

“There are,” Hawkins said. “I’ve been using one to communicate with what remains of my cell.”

Lex perked up at that. “May I borrow your computer then? See what I can learn from that satellite?”

Hawkins motioned to it. “Have at it. Anything you can learn will be helpful.”

“Did Gray talk to you?” Lex asked.

Hawkins snorted. “Yeah. He thought he was being so clever. Fortunately, Jimmy backed me up.”

“My partner is good that way,” Bill said with a smile.

They all agreed to keep in touch. All of them being deputies made that fairly easy. Lex, Griff and Bill all left to go back home.


	17. November 1 to November 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a very long chapter which finally wraps up this story. I've been working on it for almost two years now, and it's nice to have it done.
> 
> Although of course, it's not really done. Yes, there will be a sequel. Lex and Griff still have to stop the ASA from coming into being.
> 
> And we finally get to the second Speight Bingo square. Group Sex!

The next several weeks went fairly smoothly. There was a bit of excitement at the standoff at Tacoma Bridge. Griff still grumbled to Lex about that. “Jake was stupid. Much better ways to have handled that.”

Lex assured him that he agreed, but what could be done? With the Mayor ill, Jake was the closest thing they had to a leader.

“Should be Bill.”

Privately, Lex thought it should be Griff, but that wasn’t going to happen.

Further sealing Jake’s leadership, he formed the Rangers, apparently with the blessing of his father. In Lex’s opinion, he showed he had _ some _ sense by recruiting Griff as a Ranger. Jake had asked Lex as well, but the hacker had said he could do more good by continuing his work with wiring the town.

By the middle of November, the cold was intense, but all of Main Street and a few other nearby streets, including the one with Bill’s apartment, had Voice over IP phone service and WiFi. With the addition of the working radios, communications were tolerable. Lex wanted to do better, but even he was satisfied for the moment.

***

One evening, Griff and Bill came back from Ranger patrol. Bill was telling a funny story about him, Jimmy and hogs as he unlocked and opened the door. When Griff walked in, he stopped. The scent in the apartment was overpowering.

Omega in heat. Lex in heat.

Bill took one careful step into the room. “Griff. I’m going to just get a few things and get out of here. I’ll go stay with Jimmy.”

Griff’s nostrils were widening, pulling in the scent on instinct. It smelled…good. But also wrong.

“Griff?”

He shook himself. Right Bill was talking. He could talk to Bill for a moment. “Yeah, Bill. Good idea. Thanks.” His feet started toward the bedroom, where he could hear Lex whimpering. How long had he been in heat?

“Griff. There’s Gatorade under the sink. I put it aside for you.”

Griff wanted to thank him, but all his attention was on the bedroom.

“Take care of him. It doesn’t smell right to me.”

Griff heard the words and even understood them, but they were less important than getting to his mate. He entered the bedroom. Lex was huddled at the head of the bed, still dressed, his arms around his legs. His whole body was shaking. Griff could smell the arousal and the slick, and he just wanted.

Lex looked up as he walked in. Tears streamed down his face, and his eyes were red. “Griff. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I’m sorry. I’m a bad mate.”

Griff stopped, confused. What was Lex talking about? Didn’t know what?

With an effort, he cleared his thoughts and controlled his arousal. He’d been trained for this. He could do this. Sitting on the bed, he held out a hand to his mate. “Lex? Why sorry?”

Les shrank back instead of taking his hand. “I didn’t know it was coming. If I’d known, I would have asked.”

That didn’t clear up anything. “Cycle still off. Comes quickly. Didn’t scent it either.”

“But I didn’t consent.” Lex was crying harder now, head buried in his knees. “I should have consented before. Now I can’t.” His voice was muffled.

Griff got it, finally. “Lex. Is fine. We’re mates. Consent is assumed.”

Lex looked up, expression showing a bit of hope. “It is?”

Griff nodded, working at keeping himself calm. Lex needed him now. Needed him to be in control. “Yes. Consent is automatic between mates.” He paused and added. “Unless you don’t want?”

Lex shook his head. “I want. I just…thought…oh fuck. I’ve messed everything up.”

Griff reached out and pulled Lex to him. The Omega didn’t resist and came willingly, though he was still crying. He guided Lex’s head to his shoulder and released a calming scent. “Not messed up anything.”

“I should have known that…about mating. Fuck. I’m so stupid.”

Griff patted his back. Lex nosed his neck and started pressing himself against Griff. He felt himself harden in response, but they’d get to that in a minute. For now, he wanted to reassure his mate that all was well. Damn. He wished his voice worked better. He doubted Lex could read sign language in his current mental and emotional state. “Not stupid. Hormones. Mess up anyone. Is fine. Let me help you?”

“Please?” His sobs were slowing. Good.

“How long?”

Lex stopped crying. “How long have I been in heat?”

Griff nodded.

Lex’s eyes cleared for a moment while he thought. Griff was pleased to feel his shaking abate as he considered. “About an hour after you left with Bill?”

Even though not a Ranger, Lex sometimes went with Griff while he patrolled--it was good training--but that morning he’d felt sick. In hindsight, it was an indication of his approaching heat, but it hadn’t been that long since his last one, and neither had considered the possibility.

“Call me?”

“But you were busy. They need you for patrol.”

Griff hugged his mate close. How had he lived so long while still being so ignorant of how his biology and the law worked? “Heat leave. Even now, it’s a thing.”

Shame suffused Lex’s scent, and Griff moved his head back to his scent gland for soothing. “I should have remembered.” Lex’s voice was muffled in his neck.

“Is fine.” Griff stroked his back. Lex was calm enough now, and it was time to move things along. If he’d been in heat for that many hours, Griff needed to knot him soon to make him more comfortable.

Griff unbuttoned Lex’s flannel overshirt and gently pulled it off. It was cool in the room, but Lex’s body temperature was so high he doubted he could even feel the cold. He pulled off Lex’s undershirt. The Omega moaned. “Want to feel you. Want your knot.”

“I know. We’ll get there.” Next, Lex’s jeans, which were completely soaked through. Lex tried to help, but his motions were clumsy and unfocused. “Got you, Lex.”

He pulled off the jeans and Lex’s boxers, making a mental note to wash them himself. He didn’t want to send them to Margaret, Jimmy’s mate, although he was certain she was well used to it.

Once Lex was naked, the Omega moved closer, pressing himself against Griff. “Want you now.”

Griff chuckled. “Need to take pants off first.”

Lex moved back a tiny bit and Griff shifted far enough to remove his jeans and boxers. Fortunately, the scent of Omega in heat was more than enough to arouse him. He was hard and as ready as Lex. “Lie back.” He wanted his weight on Lex, knowing he’d need as much physical contact as possible. Lex whimpered but allowed himself to be moved. Griff kissed him, positioned himself and entered Lex with a smooth motion.

Lex whined and bucked up against him. _ Need _ filled the air. “Got you, Lex.” Griff thrust hard and fast, trying to come and knot as quickly as possible. Lex was hard and hot between them. Little needy sounds were a constant. “Doing okay?”

“More. Need more.”

Griff was concerned. Lex didn’t sound like he was enjoying it. There was some relief in the noises he was making but little pleasure. Griff came, hard, and Lex yelled and came too, hot and wet. Griff felt his knot fill, and Lex cried out again, still more in relief than pleasure.

Griff felt bad for his mate. Third heat and still not going as it should. Hopefully this time would settle him and the next would be more enjoyable.

Lex whimpered, shuddered and clung to Griff until his knot went down, and he was able to pull out. As soon as they separated, Lex closed his eyes and fell into what looked like an exhausted sleep. He must have really been suffering earlier.

Griff kissed his sweaty forehead and got out of bed in search of food and Gatorade. Bill had been as good as his word. A twelve pack of Gatorade lay hidden in the back of the cupboard by the sink. That would get them through the heat with care. Griff rummaged around and found the stash of protein bars and tuna he’d put aside in preparation for this. Lex wouldn’t want to eat, but he needed the energy. So did Griff. This was going to be hard on him as his already hot metabolism sped up to match his mate’s needs. He opened a package of tuna and gulped it down. Then he took a bottle of Gatorade and a bar back to the bedroom. Lex was sprawled on top of the covers, arms and legs everywhere. Griff touched him. Still unusually hot. He wished he had a thermometer.

He sat beside his mate, who, in spite of being hot, snuggled as close as he could get. Griff sighed and prepared to be overheated. If his mate needed him, he’d do it.

Lex slept for about an hour and then woke again, obviously in pain from the way he was moving slowly and carefully. “Griff?”

“I’m here.” The Alpha reached for the Gatorade and the bar, broken into small pieces. “Eat. Drink.”

Lex screwed up his face and pushed away Griff’s hands, holding the bottle. “Not hungry. Or thirsty. Just want you.”

“Body needs it.”

Lex sighed and gulped down all the Gatorade in one long swallow.

“See?”

The Omega frowned at him and ate two bites of protein bar before saying, “I can’t. Not now.”

“All right.”

Griff put the food aside for later and kissed Lex, testing to see how urgent was his need.

Urgent. Lex pulled Griff close and thrust against him. “In me. Now.”

Griff obliged, but noted that Lex wasn’t as slick as he should be. Also, the Omega cried out as he entered him. “Hurts.”

That definitely wasn’t right. It wasn’t supposed to hurt. However, Lex grabbed his ass and encouraged him to move. “Need it anyway.” His eyes were closed, and his face flushed. Griff felt a stab of fear go through him, but he gave his mate what he needed. Fortunately, the pheromones lay heavy in the air and kept him aroused enough to knot.

Lex cried out again in mingled relief and pain as Griff’s knot rose and seated itself. For the first time, Griff hoped it would go down quickly. He didn’t know what to do, but everything about this was scaring him.

As soon as his knot softened and he was able to pull out, Lex dropped immediately back into sleep, his forehead wrinkled in pain, his face even more flushed than before they’d had sex.

Griff got out of bed, took a long drink of water and paced. The scent of Omega in heat made it hard to think, but he had to. He’d heard of Omegas getting sick from heat and even, on rare occasions, dying from it. Was that happening to Lex? What could he do? He needed help. This wasn’t something he could handle on his own. But how to get help?

Fierce possessiveness rose in him, causing his thoughts to fixate on _ keep everyone away from my mate. _ He shook himself. No. That wasn’t helping. No one would steal Lex from him. Who could he call? Who could he stand to have come over?

Bill. His mind stopped on the Beta. Bill was best friends with a mated Alpha. Even the thought of Jimmy started a growl deep in his chest, but he suppressed it. He was trained to overcome instinct. He needed to start acting like it. Bill could help.

The phone they all shared was in the living room, and Griff hurried to call Jimmy’s phone, remembering that Bill had said he’d stay with his partner until the heat was over. Two rings, and Jimmy answered. “Lex? Griff?”

Hearing Jimmy’s voice made possessive rage surge within him, but he tamped it down. “Griff. Lex sick. Need help.” He struggled to get out even those few words, fighting his instincts and his fear.

“Bill said he’s in heat? His heat is going bad?”

“Yes.” He wanted to talk to Bill, not Jimmy. Not an Alpha.

“I’ll get Bill. Hang on.”

Good. Obviously, Jimmy understood how hard this was for Griff and wasn’t going to waste time.

A moment later, Bill’s familiar voice was on the line. Griff felt his shoulders relax. He could talk to Bill. “Griff? Something wrong with Lex?”

“Yes. Need help. Please?” He still struggled to get words out, even with Bill. The scent in the air hung heavy around him, making his thoughts lag.

“Okay. I’ll get Kenchy. He’s an unmated Omega, but he’s on suppressants. You’ll be okay with that?”

Not really, but what could he do? Lex needed help, and an unmated Omega was no threat to either of them. “Yes.”

“All right. We’ll be there as soon as we can. Hold on, Griff.”

Bill hung up and Griff made himself put the phone down carefully. He wanted to throw it across the room, but he knew Lex would be upset later if he did that. Lex was upset enough. He didn’t want to make it worse. He couldn’t make it worse. He hurried back to the bedroom, where Lex was shifting in his sleep, low sounds of distress making Griff’s fears even worse.

Griff sat down, pulled his mate close and held him tightly. Logically, he knew that holding him wouldn’t make anything better, but it was the only thing he could think to do. He positioned Lex’s head against his shoulder and concentrated on releasing as much soothing scent as he could. And he prayed to a God he didn’t believe in to make everything better.

He lost track of time as he held Lex, who was growing still enough to worry him even more. He shook the Omega once or twice, begging in his rough voice to “stay with him. Help was coming.”

At the sound of a key in the door, he automatically growled and stood up, putting his body between his mate and the door.

“Griff? It’s Bill and Kenchy.”

The familiar voice penetrated his fear and protectiveness. Bill. Help. Lex needed help.

“Can we come in?”

He struggled against his instincts and reached out to grip Lex again. His mate was shivering. He knew that was bad. “Yes,” he managed to get out. “But slow. Okay?”

“We’ll be slow. We’re coming in.”

Bill’s head appeared first in the doorway. Griff looked up, not able to suppress the low growl in his chest. “Smell Alpha!”

“Shit,” Bill said as he pulled back. “I was with Jimmy. You’re smelling him on my clothes. Kenchy. Hold on a sec.”

“I’m not heading in there alone. But you’re right, Bill. Lex needs help. He smells all wrong.”

Griff was pretty sure he recognized the voice, but he paid more attention to the scent of the second man. Omega. Unmated. No threat.

A few moments later, Bill reappeared, in a clean t-shirt and jeans. Or as clean as was possible under current conditions. “Better?”

Griff could still smell Alpha on him, but he recognized it now as Jimmy. Alpha but mated. Not a threat? He deliberately relaxed the muscles in his shoulders. Lex needed them. “Yes. Okay to come in.”

Bill and Kenchy, whom Griff had met before and now recognized, entered the room. The doctor approached slowly. “I need to examine him. My nose is telling me he’s having a very bad heat.”

“Can help?” Griff hated the desperate edge to his voice.

“Yes. I have the right medicine.”

Griff shifted to one side, giving Kenchy room, but he couldn’t make himself let go of Lex’s hand. Kenchy eyes darted to their joined hands and smiled. “That’s fine. I can work with that. He’ll be better if you’re touching anyway. You’re mated, right?”

Griff nodded, suppressing a growl as the doctor sat down beside Lex and opened his bag. Bill remained in the doorway. Oddly, Griff _ wanted _him close by. “Bill?” He went with his instincts and motioned the deputy to the bed, on the side away from Lex.

“You sure?” Bill asked, tone concerned.

“Yes. Want.” He shook his head. “No. Need?”

Kenchy glanced up. “It’s not well known, but it used to be that an Alpha and Omega had a Beta as part of the mating. Triads instead of pairs. Something in Griff maybe is harkening back to that.”

Bill shrugged and sat down on the bed beside Griff. He put a hand on the Alpha. Griff found the touch oddly soothing.

Kenchy completed his examination quickly but thoroughly. “How long has he been in heat?”

It was hard to do the math in his head, but Griff managed.“Twelve hours, or so.”

The doctor nodded. “How long since his last one?”

This was harder, but he managed to come up with “Five weeks?”

Kenchy frowned. “Do you know if that’s normal for him? That’s pretty short.”

Griff shrugged. “Only his third.”

Kenchy nodded. “Ah. Was on suppressants for a long time?”

Griff nodded. “Until the bombs.”

“All right. That makes sense then. His cycle’s off. His last heat? Did you go through it with him?”

Griff made a _ yes/no _ gesture. “Was with him. Didn’t let me help.”

The longer he talked, the more comfortable he became with the presence of two others. Lex, however, showed no sign of awareness of them.

“Okay, that all makes sense. Do you know if he weaned himself off the suppressants or if he went off cold turkey?”

“The latter.”

“Right. I’m betting he ran out after the bombs?”

Griff nodded.

Kenchy dug in his bag and pulled out a syringe. Griff felt the growl build in his chest, but Bill ran a hand down his back, and the Alpha swallowed hard, doing his best to control his instincts.

Fortunately, Kenchy seemed to understand what he needed, and he talked through what he was doing. “It would have been better if he’d had a chance to go off the suppressants slowly, but, obviously, that wasn’t possible. Also, the best way to handle going off them is to replace them with a temporary course of hormones, to bring the body back to a normal cycle.”

“He be okay?” Griff didn’t like the sound of any of that.

“Should be.” Kenchy held up the syringe. “I can’t give him hormones right now, with him in the middle of heat. What I can do is make him more comfortable. This is a pain killer and a fever reducer. It should make him feel better in a couple of hours. Okay to give it to him?”

Griff nodded, not happy with the idea of something being injected into Lex, but he told himself that Bill obviously trusted the doctor.

Kenchy injected Lex, who didn’t react to the sting of the needle. “There. That’s good for about eight to ten hours.” He dug into his bag again and pulled out a bottle. “This is basically the same thing in pill form. Give him two morning and evening until the heat is over. He’s still going to have a bad heat, but this will support his body, keep the fever down and reduce the amount of pain he’s in. Knot him as often as he wants and as you can. Every time you knot him, his body’s going to respond to that, and his hormone levels will naturally smooth out.”

Griff took the bottle, examined it closely and nodded. He could do that.

“You’re going to be tired, and he’s going to be a handful. Even with the help of the drugs, this is going to be hard on him.” Kenchy paused and added. “I know it’s unorthodox, but if there were someone who could stay with both of you, that would help. You’re going to be distracted, and you might forget to give him his meds. He’s not going to be any help. Plus, someone to be with him while you sleep.”

Griff beat back his instinctive rejection of the idea. It did make sense. But who? Suddenly, he knew and turned to Bill. “Hate to ask but can you stay?”

Bill’s eyebrows rose. “You want me to stay with you?”

Griff shrugged. “Not _ want _exactly, but think I need it.” He corrected himself. “We need it.”

“You’re a good choice,” Kenchy added. “As a Beta, you don’t trigger any threat response in Griff. And, assuming Griff is okay with it, and you’re willing, by being male, you can…uh…well, you can’t knot him, but you can satisfy him in other ways.”

Bill’s eyes got really wide. “You mean have sex with him?”

Kenchy nodded, his expression calm, as if he hadn’t just dropped one of the most awkward suggestions ever. “It will help. And give Griff a rest.”

Griff was struggling again. A part of him wanted to strike out at the two of them. Get them to leave him and his mate alone. But the rational side of him knew the doctor was making sense. But would Bill be willing? Griff’s head started to hurt. This was almost more than he could deal with right now.

“Umm,” Bill said, his tone hesitant. “I mean. I guess? Assuming Griff would allow it?” He glanced at the sleeping Lex, as if wondering what he would think of this if he were awake.

Bill was apparently willing? As long as he was okay with it? Could he be okay with someone else having sex with his mate? His mate in heat? But Kenchy was making sense, and Griff was already tired, both from the sex and the worry for Lex. He wanted someone else to make the decision for him, but that wasn’t going to happen either.

What was best for Lex? He could use that to decide. And put that way, there wasn’t a question. “Yes. You may. And thank you.”

Bill shook his head, obviously having a tough time believing an Alpha had just given permission.

“Assuming you want to,” Griff had to add.

Bill snorted. “I gave you my number at that conference for a reason. While, yeah, I’d probably prefer you, I like Lex too, and I think I can manage.”

Kenchy stood up. “It’s decided then. I’ve done what I can for Lex now. You’ve got the pills. When his heat is over, bring him to the clinic, and I’ll get him on hormones to stabilize his cycle.” He rolled his eyes. “I’m running low on morphine and antibiotics, but I have plenty of meds for Omegas and Alphas.”

“Thank you,” Griff said. His throat was starting to hurt. He probably should have been signing, but he hadn’t wanted to let go of Lex’s hand.

“I need to go back to Jimmy’s to get my stuff,” Bill said. “And, uh. I’m not sure I’m really eligible for heat leave.”

Kenchy waved a hand. “I’ll write you a note. It’s my call, and I say you’re needed.”

“You be okay for a bit, Griff? Until I get back?”

As soon as Kenchy had stood up, Griff had reached to pull Lex into his arms. His scent was still acrid but it had less pain in it. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Bill said as he stood up to follow Kenchy out of the apartment.

When they had gone, Griff cuddled Lex close. It had been difficult to have all of them there, but he was glad his mate was going to be all right.

***

Bill made hurried explanations to Jimmy and got back to the apartment as soon as he could. He both wanted to get back and knew Griff needed him. The circumstances were odd, but he was pleased. He’d been attracted to Griff when they met at the conference years earlier. He’d given the Alpha his number, hoping he’d call but knowing it wasn’t likely. However, he’d never forgotten the man who looked so much like him.

And now there were three of them. What were the odds? Omegas weren’t as attractive to Bill as Alphas, but they were still more interesting than Betas. If he was being honest, he wasn’t sure it was so much that they were less attractive as less available. So, the thought of being with an Omega who looked so much like an Alpha he was already interested in? Yeah, he thought he could roll with that.

As soon as he got to the apartment, he called out, not wanting to startle Griff. No one answered, but his nose told him they were both still here. Cautiously, he crept to the bedroom and peered in. Griff was sound asleep, curled up, holding Lex tightly. Lex was stirring, and Bill thought he was about to wake up. Quickly, Bill stripped down to a t-shirt and boxers, hoping he didn’t smell too much like Jimmy.

He lay down on the bed and put a careful hand on Lex, who felt warm but not too warm. Apparently, the medicine was working.

The Omega opened his eyes. He was facing the deputy. “Bill?” His voice was thick with confusion and sleep.

“Hey, Lex. Glad you’re still with us.”

Lex blinked and glanced over his shoulder at his sleeping mate. “Griff’s okay with you here?”

“Yeah.” Bill filled Lex in on what had happened.

“Bad heat?” Lex asked when he was done. “I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“It is. How do you feel?”

Lex closed his eyes as if trying to figure that out. “Sick. Hot. Most everything hurts but maybe not as bad as before?”

“Kenchy said that medicine would help but that you’d still be uncomfortable. Do you have another heat wave coming on?”

A flush rose in the Omega’s cheeks. “I think so, yeah.” He winced and closed his eyes. “Not too strong a one, though, I don’t think.”

Bill stroked his arm, and Lex leaned into the pressure. “Your body’s exhausted. I bet you haven’t eaten or drunk enough.”

“I don’t really remember.”

Bill sat up. “I’ll be back in a minute. Gonna get you something to eat and some Gatorade.”

Lex struggled to sit up, but apparently Griff was holding him too tightly. The Alpha didn’t even stir. “You don’t need to,” Lex protested.

Bill leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on his damp forehead. “It’s why I’m here with you two. To keep you both in good shape for the rest of this.” His mouth twisted in a rueful half-smile. “Or as healthy as you can be under the circumstances. You lie back. Snuggle your mate. I’ve got this.”

Lex closed his eyes and settled closer to Griff.

Bill hurried into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with a pouch of tuna, two protein bars and a bottle of Gatorade. Lex was tired enough to let himself be fed, although he did insist on holding the bottle himself, once he’d wiggled his way free of Griff’s embrace.

“He’s not even stirring,” Lex said after he’d swallowed half the bottle. “He’s okay, isn’t he? He’s not sick too?”

Bill shook his head and smiled as reassuringly as he could. “He’s just tired. He was really worried about you. By the time Kenchy and I got here, you were so still and really hot. Kenchy assured me that you looked worse than you were, but Griff had no way of knowing that.”

Lex smiled down at his mate. “We had a rocky start, but he’s good to me.”

“He is,” Bill agreed, wishing in that moment that he were an Omega and could find an Alpha like Griff.

Lex finished his Gatorade. Bill took the bottle from him as Lex started to shake. “It’s coming on again, isn’t it?”

Lex nodded, expression miserable. “I need him. But I don’t want to wake him if he’s as tired as you said he is.”

Bill put an arm around him and stroked his back. “You said it’s not too strong this time, right?”

“Yeah. But it’s still…uncomfortable.”

“It’s all right. If it’s not too strong, I might be able to help.”

Lex’s head shot around. “You mean…”

“Yeah. I can have sex with you, if you’re willing. It’s not the same as with Griff, but it might take the edge off enough to let you sleep for a bit, until the next one comes, and you really need your mate.”

“But…won’t Griff be mad. And…would you even want to?”

Bill smiled at him and kissed his cheek. “Griff knows. He already gave his permission. And, as for me, well, let’s just say it seems I have a type and you two are it. I’m willing if you are.”

Lex smiled back at him, the expression uncertain. “I am. I guess.” His eyes widened. “That didn’t come out right. It’s not that I don’t want you. It’s just…”

“You’re just sick, and this is all hitting you at once. I get it.”

Lex groaned, and Bill could feel his body temperature as if he were standing next to an open flame. The scent of Omega in heat grew stronger. Bill hardened instantly. Griff stirred but still didn’t awaken.

“Yes, Bill. I…need it.”

Bill leaned forward. “Nothing to be ashamed of. It’s what your body needs. Let me give it to you.” He kissed Lex, who kissed back, the motions of his mouth urgent and needy. Lex shifted to press himself against Bill.

The kiss was sloppy, but Bill didn’t hold it against him. Kissing wasn’t what Lex needed right now. Bill pulled back a bit, Lex following him with a whimper. “Need to get my shorts off.”

Lex gave him just enough time to slip off his boxers, before the Omega surged forward, grabbing Bill and pulling him close. Bill had to wriggle a bit, but he finally managed to get Lex down on his back, in a position where he could enter him.

Oh wow! He’d had no idea. Lex was hot and slick and…absolutely perfect. Most of the time Bill had bottomed because Alphas never would, and he’d only topped a few times when he’d tried female Betas, who were, unfortunately, every bit as boring as he’d thought. That had felt nothing like this. Bill buried his nose in Lex’s neck, hoping he wouldn’t mind. Lex shuddered against him, grabbed his ass and urged him deeper.

Lex nuzzled his neck, where his scent glands would be if he were an Alpha. Suddenly, he regretted being able to scent but not be scented back. “Sorry, Lex,” he managed to say through the waves of sensation washing over him. Lex was tighter than he’d expected, and the Omega’s inner walls gripped him as Lex ground their bodies together.

“Is fine. This is good.”

Bill could hear the strain in his voice. He knew it wasn’t exactly what Lex needed, but he hoped it would help, at least a little bit. Then he lost himself in Lex, in the back and forth rhythm that took him deep inside. Lex thrust against him, and Bill felt warm wetness hit him at the same time his cock was gripped tighter than he’d ever felt before. He came instantly, too overcome by pleasure to feel embarrassed at how fast he’d come.

They lay together, panting. Bill could feel Lex’s temperature receding. A moment later, he managed to speak. “Did that help?”

Lex nuzzled his neck again. “Yeah. It did. It didn’t quite relieve this wave, but I think I’ll be good for a bit.”

“Want something more to eat or drink?” Bill sort of hoped not. He didn’t want to move just then.

“Not yet. Want to cuddle.”

Bill was willing. Lex reached and shifted Bill’s head, so his nose was pressed against the Omega’s neck.

“You sure?” He still felt bad about scenting him without permission earlier. Scenting was somehow more intimate than sex.

“’M sure.” Lex’s voice was slurred and sleepy.

Bill inhaled, loving the scent of contented, mostly sated Omega. He was afraid he could get used to this.

Lex nuzzled him again and relaxed back into sleep. Bill knew he should rest while he could, but first he allowed himself a few minutes to enjoy the closeness and being surrounded by good scent.

***

Griff awoke slowly. Something wasn’t right. What was it? The smell of sex surrounded him. That was normal. Lex was in heat. Eyes still closed, he frowned, trying to order his thoughts.

Then he got it. There was a _ third _ scent in this bed. _ Someone _ had had sex with his mate!

He sat up, a low growl already forming in his chest. His head whipped around, and his fingers shaped themselves into claws. He was ready to rend. To kill.

Until he saw Lex and Bill curled up together, Lex’s head on Bill’s chest. Their eyes were closed, and they were breathing deeply. Griff’s body relaxed as he remembered Lex being sick, Kenchy coming to help him and Bill staying.

He settled back on the bed. This was okay. This was what he had wanted. His instincts weren’t entirely convinced. A part of him still wanted to kick Bill out of their bed. And Bill’s apartment. Right. He smiled in rueful amusement. Hardly seemed fair to toss Bill from his own place, in which he had kindly allowed him and Lex to stay.

The deputy’s eyes opened, and his smile matched Griff’s. “Want to toss me out on my ear, don’t you?”

Griff nodded. “Part of me, yes. Rest? No. Want you to stay.” As he said the words, he realized the truth of them.

“You sure?”

“I’m sure.”

Lex stirred, and Griff’s nose detetected the arrival of another wave of heat.

Bill shifted. “You want me to leave the room?”

Lex’s hands gripped the Beta. “I want you to stay, Bill.”

Griff moved closer and kissed his mate. “I want him to stay too. Belongs.”

Now Lex opened his eyes, and Griff briefly lost himself in their golden depths. “He does?”

“Yes.” He leaned a little to kiss Bill gently on his mouth. “He does.”

Lex sat up. “My heat’s coming again.”

Bill and Griff both scented the air. “I know,” they each said, in unison.

Lex winked at them. “Gonna be an intense one.”

Griff gave his mate a slow grin. “Certainly hope so.”

Bill climbed out of bed and walked to the door, naked. Two sets of eager amber eyes followed his motion. “Guys. Chill. Both of you need to eat and drink first.”

“I thought I’d eat you, Bill,” Lex said with a leer.

The deputy flipped him off as he left.

Griff laughed. “That too, Bill.”

As the Beta left, Griff turned to his mate. “How you feel?”

Lex shifted and winced a little. “Better, I think. But still not great. Bill said Kenchy came and gave me some meds?”

“Yes. Supposed to ease pain. Once over, he’ll give something to stabilize your cycle.”

“That’ll be nice. Don’t even know what that would be like.” Lex ran his fingers over Griff’s chest.

Heat scent enveloped them. Griff leaned forward for a kiss. “Better than you’ve had so far.”

Lex broke the kiss to give his mate a pleading look. “Promise?”

“I promise,” Griff said and kissed him again.

The kiss was about to move beyond that when Bill came back in the room. “Food and hydration first.”

Lex and Griff grimaced at each other. “You were the one who said he belonged, Griff.”

“True. But he does.”

Griff and Lex both ate protein bars and drank Gatorade until Bill was satisfied they’d had enough to last them through this round of heat. By the time Lex swallowed his last bite, his scent was strong enough to make Griff’s head swim. He reached for his mate. “Can’t wait.”

Lex was reaching for him at the same time, and they kissed, long and hard. Griff was glad Lex was feeling well enough to slow down and appreciate this. He loved heat kisses and had missed them last night.

Hands gripped his shoulders and Griff arched his back into Bill’s touch. He broke the kiss long enough to hiss, “Yes!” Strong fingers moved down his spine, and it felt so good. Lex’s scent filled the room, and Griff could feel Bill hard against his back. It was almost too much.

But a whimper from his mate brought him back to himself. He gently nudged Lex onto his back, and the man obliged, spreading his legs, slick streaming out of him. Griff entered him, and the Omega cried out, this time more in pleasure than in pain. Griff moved, starting slowly but moving faster as his mate’s sounds and scent urged him on. Bill wrapped his arms around Griff’s chest and moved against him. Griff wanted to give him more, but he was too distracted by his mate, who yelled once and came.

Griff came with him, and his knot swelled. He closed his eyes and rocked through several mini-climaxes before he remembered Bill.

“Lex?”

“Hmm?” came the sleepy, sated reply.

“Can you manage Bill?”

The deputy chuckled against his back. “I’ve got hands, you know.”

“Said I’d eat you,” Lex said, some of his usual cheek back. “Get over here.”

It took a bit of adjusting, but they managed to get Bill sitting on Lex’s face. It was awkward, but it wasn’t long before Bill cried out.

Griff’s knot went down soon after that, and they all collapsed in a satisfied pile.

Griff held Lex close to him while Bill settled against his back. It was warm between the two of them, and Griff decided this might not be the worst way to spend the rest of the winter.

Plenty of time to figure out terrorist plots after the snow melted.


End file.
